Whose Child Dies Next? Fentanyl Awareness & Prevention Day
Category: Capitol Area
‘They are dealing death’: WRAL Investigates goes undercover to get firsthand look at fentanyl crisis in NC
It’s a killer the size of grain of sand or the tip of a pen. Illegal fentanyl is running rampant through North Carolina, and the consequences are terrifying.
Fentanyl deaths are on the rise in North Carolina. Last year, 4,000 people lost their lives to drug overdoses in our state. The majority — 77% — died due to fentanyl poisoning.
The Nash County Sheriff’s Office recently confiscated enough fentanyl to kill every person in the county. WRAL Investigates spent several days with undercover agents and confidential informants on the streets of Nash County as law enforcement battles the war on this poison.
Early one summer morning, the Nash County Sheriff’s Special Response Team conducted a search at a mobile home. A family, including kids in their pajamas, filed out of the home. One person came out in handcuffs.
“Children put things in their mouth. That makes it more alarming,” said one member of the response team.
With their work done at the mobile home, the next raid was on, this time in Rocky Mount. A flash bang disrupts the silence at a home on Pine Street.The SRT quickly enters the home yelling, “Come to the center of the room” and “Hands Up!”
“This is an older neighborhood with a lot of good families in it. This house — drugs were bought out of it yesterday,” WRAL Investigates was told.
A search revealed fentanyl and heroin, as well as a stolen gun. The SRT also found high-powered ammunition.
“As you can see with tips of these they are capable of going through wood-framed houses and bullet-proof vests,” investigators told WRAL Investigates.
Targeting guns, drugs and gangs is the mission of the Nash County Sheriff’s Office under the direction of Sheriff Keith Stone.
Read the full article on the WRAL website.
‘Something’s gotta be done.’ Grieving father sounds alarm on North Carolina’s fentanyl crisis
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (WTVD) — Scott Zimmerman and his family in Chapel Hill are devastated.
He’d rather not share the agonizing story of his oldest son’s sudden and shocking death, but he’s doing it.
Zimmerman wants to shed light on a huge problem in North Carolina’s fight against the deadly, illicit drug, fentanyl. It leaves dealers on the streets longer and loved ones waiting for justice.
Read the full article and watch the clip on the ABC11 website.
Burdened after Death: What you should know about North Carolina’s autopsy crisis
A severe autopsy backlog in North Carolina has added to the financial and emotional burdens of grieving families, a Charlotte Observer and News & Observer investigation revealed.
Here are three takeaways from Burdened after Death:
When people in North Carolina die unexpectedly, required medical investigations usually take more than 20 weeks. In nearly 1,400 cases since 2020, they took more than a year.
That crisis heaps more burdens on grieving family members during one of the worst periods of their lives. Some can’t touch funds they are entitled to inherit, leaving their biggest bills unpaid. Many must wait months for the answer to a burning question: Why did their loved one die?
The system is bogged down chiefly because there are too many bodies and too few pathologists and toxicologists to handle the load.
Read the full article on the Raleigh News and Observer web site.
Attorney General Josh Stein Statement on National Fentanyl Awareness Day
NC families of fentanyl victims advocate for more state action to fight opioid crisis
RALEIGH N.C. (WNCN) — Wednesday, the Food and Drug Administration approved lifesaving medication to combat the opioid crisis.
While families of fentanyl victims in North Carolina are praising the decision, they say there’s more to do on a state level to prevent deaths.
Barb Walsh’s 24-year-old daughter, Sophia, died in 2021 after drinking from what she thought was a typical water bottle, instead it had dissolved fentanyl inside.
Walsh created the Fentanyl Victims Network to connect families impacted in the state.
“Every night I call five families because I want to talk to them,” Walsh said. “To collect these people and let them know that they’re not alone and they need to join us. We are stronger together.”
Read the full article on the CBS17 web site.
Bill calls for tougher penalties for opioid, fentanyl dealers
Additional coverage of this bill can be found on the following:
Wilson librarian uses Narcan to save man’s life during overdose
A librarian in Wilson County saved a man’s life late last year during an overdose by administering the drug Narcan, reviving him as police and medics arrived.
Read the full article and watch the video segment on the WRAL TV5 web site.
Lawmakers, families fight for harsher punishment to combat fentanyl crisis
Read the full article and watch the video segment on the WRAL TV5 web site.
Senators move to increase punishments as fentanyl (overdoses) poisonings rise
