Eight dead, over 50 affected, in largest Austin opioid overdose outbreak in years

More than 50 people overdosed Monday and Tuesday, resulting in the 
suspected deaths of eight people, in what city officials called an 
"outbreak" of opioid overdoses in Austin.

At a news conference Tuesday, city employees convened to provide 
additional information about the incidents and the investigation 
surrounding the suspected overdoses. Austin-Travis County Emergency 
Medical Services received more than 50 overdose-related calls by Tuesday 
morning, an approximately 1,000% increase in overdose emergency calls in 
one day, according to EMS Assistant Chief Steve White. The agency 
typically receives one to two overdose calls per day, he said.

White said Austin has not experienced this volume of overdoses since 2015, 
when K2, a synthetic marijuana compound, struck the community.

The overdose emergency calls began in downtown Austin at 1 a.m. Monday and 
began cropping up in North, South and East Austin shortly thereafter, 
until 4 a.m. Tuesday, Travis County Medical Examiner Dr. Keith Pinkard 
said at the news conference. Many patients were found in cardiac arrest, 
White said.

Patients represented a range of ages and demographics, said Austin Police 
Assistant Chief Eric Fitzgerald, though none were under the age of 18. 
Emergency calls came from businesses, residences and public areas. Most 
calls were concentrated in downtown Austin, around Neches Street, between 
East Sixth and East Eighth streets, EMS Capt. Christa Stedman said at an 
initial press conference Monday.

"There were patients that were unhoused; there were patients that were 
housed," White said. "There were patients that were at their workplace, 
and there were patients that were out in public spaces as well. It was not 
limited to one geographic location.

"We did notice that there were some spots that have had a higher density 
of overdoses, but it was spread throughout the entire city."

The medical examiner's office has conducted autopsies and toxicology 
reports on the eight people whose deaths were tied to the overdoses, 
Pinkard said. The reports are currently pending.

Travis County Judge Andy Brown credited emergency responders with saving 
many lives during the influx of calls. EMS community health paramedics 
canvassed affected communities Monday and passed out more than 200 Narcan 
kits, which can combat the effects of an overdose, to both their known 
clientele and members of the public. One police sector went through its 
entire stock of Narcan, White said. Individual room checks were done 
inside local shelters by the city of Austin's Homeless Strategy Office to 
ensure shelter residents had not been affected, an EMS news release said.

White said that if the city had not prioritized the overdoses, the loss of 
life would have been in the dozens.

Patients taken to local hospitals responded well to Narcan administration, 
increasing the likelihood that the substances ingested were opiates, the 
release said.

Patients reported using different types of drugs, though EMS did not 
provide specifics on which suspected substances were causing the 
overdoses, EMS Deputy Medical Director Dr. Heidi Abraham said at a news 
conference Monday. Several patients treated Monday told paramedics they 
thought they were taking a non-opioid narcotic, the release said.

Murder charges
Fitzgerald, the assistant police chief, said the Austin Police Department 
would find those responsible for the overdoses and deaths and hold them 
accountable. A new Texas law instituted tiered felony charges for 
producing, delivering or distributing fentanyl in an effort to combat the 
crisis.

The Police Department detained two individuals Monday and arrested one 
person. That person currently faces a firearm possession felony, with more 
charges pending, Austin police Lt. Patrick Eastlick said.

"Anyone found responsible for distributing fentanyl faces potential 
charges of murder" or manufacture or delivery of a controlled substance 
causing death or serious bodily injury, Eastlick said.

The police investigation is being aided by the Drug Enforcement 
Administration and the assistant U.S. attorney's office, he said.

Overdose response and remediation efforts
While the cause of the overdoses has not been found yet, Eastlick said 
fentanyl is the likely culprit. Police said it was too early in the 
investigation to determine where the drugs had come from.

Brown, the county judge, said the Travis County Commissioners Court would 
finalize a contract Tuesday with Texans Connecting Overdose Prevention 
Efforts. The program allows community partners and first responders to 
have real-time information about when, where and why overdoses are 
occurring. He said the information can be used to tailor opioid response 
and remediation efforts.

Drug overdose deaths continue to be the No. 1 cause of nonaccidental 
deaths in Travis County, Brown said, urging all those who can to carry a 
Narcan kit.

Narcan can be found at distribution centers across the city and can be 
accessed with a Central Health Medical Access Program card at H-E-B and 
CommUnityCare pharmacies, said Dr. Desmar Walkes, the county's public 
health authority.

Austin Public Health has received funding from U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett 
through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to 
combat the opioid crisis, Walkes said.

The funding "has gone a long way to help us prepare for days such as what 
we had yesterday," Walkes said. "This funding of over $2 million has 
allowed us to allocate 30,000 doses of naloxone to various community 
members."

She said the symptoms of an opioid overdose can appear as shallow or slow 
breathing; confusion or loss of consciousness; change in skin color to 
pale, blue or purple; and very small pupils.

https://www.statesman.com/story/news/crime/2024/04/30/austin-tx-opioid-
overdose-outbreak-four-dead-dozens-affected/73510061007/