Five hospitalized in another mass drug overdose incident in Baltimore
July 19 (UPI) -- Five people in Baltimore were hospitalized for a reported mass overdose incident, one week after 27 were sickened in the same area of the city because of a "bad batch" of drugs, police said.
The victims Friday were in serious condition, Baltimore Fire Chief James Wallace said at a news conference, including addition to two who refused treatment after first responders deployed Narcan.
The 911 calls started coming just before 9 a.m. Friday and not from a concentrated area as last week, police said. Both incidents are in the historic Penn North neighborhood of West Baltimore.
"People have already heard what is out here and yet they still gotta go get it because their body is calling for it," one man who goes by the nickname 'Slim Rob' told WJZ-TV. "It's heartbreaking, man. It's heartbreaking. You got people's mothers, fathers, aunts and uncles, grandparents out here -- and the kids need them and yet they need that when you can be gone like this."
On July 10, people were hospitalized in the incident in West Baltimore, which law enforcement officers and community advocates called a "bad batch of drugs."
BPD & @BaltimoreFire are on scene at the intersection of Pennsylvania & North Avenues in reference to multiple individuals experiencing overdose symptoms. More information to follow as it becomes available. pic.twitter.com/dOkM7p8A4t— Baltimore Police (@BaltimorePolice) July 10, 2025
"We understand that the supply across the city is very volatile right now," Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said. "If you see someone who may be overdosing, help them. If you have Narcan, administer it. Call 911. Don't walk past anyone who may be experiencing an overdose.
"You can literally save their life by stepping in. That person is a human, that person is a Baltimorean."
Police Commissioner Richard Worley said the incidents are being investigated separately.
"We also have numerous officers working the area having to locate who the buyers were, who the sellers were and mainly who is bringing the drugs into the area," Worley said.
Five people were arrested three days later on July 13 in the area on a charge of drug possession with intent to distribute. It's unclear if the arrested were linked to the mass overdose, according to Baltimore police.
"I understand the frustration," Scott said about Penn North residents, who felt their concerns have been ignored. "We're talking about a neighborhood ... that has been so disinvested in for so long. We're not going to change that overnight."
Scientists from the National Institute of Standards and Technology who examined substances from last week said they contained fentanyl, a powerful painkiller; methylclonazepam, which has sedative effects; Mannitol, a diuretic; quinine, an anti-malaria drug; and caffeine.
Narcan, which is the brand name of naloxone, and fentanyl strips were distributed to the affected neighborhood last week.
"Today's incident is a painful reminder that our work is far from over," Scott said.
In Baltimore, opioid overdose deaths reached a high of 1,006 in 2021 and dropped to 895 in 2022 before going back up to 952 in 2023. Last year, there were 698 opioid overdose-related deaths in the city, according to state data.
"People fade away -- they've got agendas, other things to do," Vincent Timmons, an outreach specialist at Tuerk House, told the Baltimore Banner. "People don't remember that area. They're used to that."
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