On Friday, a one-year-old baby boy died, and three other children were hospitalized, from a suspected exposure to fentanyl at a daycare center in the Bronx, according to police.
Nicholas Dominici, a one-year-old toddler, was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
A 2-year-old boy and an 8-month-old girl were also both “unconscious and unresponsive,” the police said. All three showed symptoms of opioid exposure, according to police.
A two-year-old boy and an eight-month-old girl were also found “unconscious and unresponsive,” as reported by the police. All three children exhibited signs of opioid exposure.
The children had been taking a nap at the Divino Nino Day Care Center and had eaten their last meal approximately 90 minutes earlier.
The scheduled wake-up time for the children was around 2:30 pm, but they were found unresponsive. The victims included a one-year-old boy, two two-year-old boys, and an eight-month-old girl.
A woman who lives near the daycare center recounted hearing a daycare worker repeatedly screaming, “The kids are dead! The kids are dead!” The concerned neighbor rushed outside and witnessed the distressed worker with the unresponsive children near the entrance of the daycare center.
Over the weekend, both the daycare operator and another individual were arrested and formally booked. Meanwhile, a third accomplice remains at large.
According to the New York Post, the daycare owner contacted three friends before dialing 911, while the children were overdosing from Fentanyl exposure.
Authorities later discovered a kilo (2.2 pounds) of Fentanyl at the daycare facility. Neighbors revealed that it was widely known to be a drug lab, despite having passed “surprise inspections” conducted by the city of New York.
