DENVER – A mixture of fentanyl and cocaine is suspected of “instantly” killing five people, including three Hispanics, at a party in Denver (Colorado) that “looked like a mass homicide,” reported this Tuesday Prosecutor Brian Mason from Colorado, who is investigating whether there was another substance among the components.
Karina Rodríguez, from 29 years old, and her husband, Sam Marquez, of 32, parents of a 4-month-old baby, were identified as some of the dead, along with Humberto Arroyo, of 24.
The authorities did not reveal the names of other two women killed during the party, which occurred on Sunday in an apartment in Commerce City, north of Denver.
“The five adults literally fell dead in the place where they consumed the drugs,” prosecutor Mason, of the Judicial District
“These drugs are terrifying. They are dangerous,” he added.
“It all happened very quickly, almost instantly,” Commerce City Police Chief Clint Nichols said at a press conference.
“All of them were so bad that they couldn’t even get up to call 911 (emergency number)”, he added.
Alerted by a call from a woman asking for help, the paramedics entered the house on Sunday afternoon and found “a nightmare scenario”, Mason affirmed.
Nichols explained that initially the paramedics and firefighters assumed that the victims were only unconscious, but that was the case of only one person, Cora Márquez (Sam’s sister), who was transported to time to a local hospital, where he remains in intensive care.
Nichols said that it has not yet been determined exactly which “illicit narcotic” caused the deaths because the “review detailed” of the apartment to check if any other substance contributed to the tragic outcome.
They have also not established when the deaths occurred, although, based on testimonies from neighbors, the investigators believe that the deaths occurred on Sunday morning when “loud noises” were heard inside the apartment.
Authorities anticipate more deaths
Mason asserted that the investigations will expand because “there are other people out there who may have the same drugs or who have bought drugs from the same trafficker and may use those drugs today”.
“We are going to have more deaths. It will be terrible for public health and it will be a public safety crisis,” the official said.
The prosecutor reported that the North Denver Drug Enforcement is “aggressively investigating leads” about who supplied the drugs .
Department data of Public Health and Environment of Colorado reveal that in this state during the last two years (2020 and 2021) 32 people died from fentanyl overdose.
At the same time, in the same period, another 1 .767 people died from overdoses with other substances, mostly methamphetamine and cocaine.
Furthermore, in 2021 there was a 42 % more deaths from this cause than in 2020.