Boy, 13, Dies After Ingesting Fentanyl, Collapsing at School

A 13-year-old Connecticut boy died Saturday, two days after collapsing during gym class in his school's gymnasium due to a fentanyl overdose. Two other students who came in contact with the drug and were hospitalized at the same time have been released, USA Today reports. The mayor of Hartford, where the tragedy took place, says the 13-year-old apparently ingested the opioid, CNN reports. "We still have much to learn about the circumstances of this tragedy, and about how a child had access to such a shocking quantity of such deadly drugs, and our police department will continue their investigation and seek to hold accountable the adults who ultimately are responsible for this child’s death," the mayor said.

Just a quarter of a milligram of fentanyl, an amount so small it could fit on the tip of a pencil, can be deadly. The school, a magnet middle and high school that focuses on sport and medical sciences, was placed on lockdown and searched and 40 small bags of fentanyl in powder form were found, police say, per NBC Connecticut. The 13-year-old is believed to have brought the drug to school. Students and staff were required to decontaminate their shoes before leaving campus in case they walked through any of the drug, and the school was closed for a full cleaning, which was expected to take several days. (More fentanyl stories.)