Police are searching for a suspect after more than 30 people got sick from what officials believe was batch of K2 laced with an opiate or fentanyl since Tuesday night.
Emergency crews responded to the New Haven Green, a park near Yale University, Tuesday night for three suspected ODs.
More cases came to light when around 18 people collapsed on the New Haven Green in a span of three-and-a-half hours Wednesday morning, authorities said.
The fire department was alerted around 8 a.m. that several people on the Green were getting sick from suspected overdoses and several departments responded.
Police Investigating Several Drug Overdoses on New Haven Green
![[HAR] Police Investigating Several Drug Overdoses on New Haven Green](https://newsflash.one/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/18-suspected-overdoses-in-just-4-hours-in-new-haven.jpg)
They found people of a variety of ages suffering from overdose symptoms. Some were unconscious while others were vomiting, nauseated or lethargic.
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Naloxone was administered at the scene but it was not effective.
Yale-New Haven Hospital said it has received seven patients — two to the hospital on York Street and five were brought to the Hospital of Saint Raphael.
Higher doses of naloxone given at the hospital have been helping, officials said during a news conference Wednesday morning.
In all, there have been more than 30 cases, officials said, and the DEA has been notified.
Some of the patients are critical, according to Rick Fontana, the director of the office of emergency management. Officials said there have been no fatalities.
It is too early to know exactly what the people who got sick took, but officials suspect they might have taken K2, a synthetic drug promoted as similar to marijuana. The National Institute on Drug Abuse warns it is potentially much more powerful and dangerous and can even be life-threatening.
Some of the people on the Green told emergency crews that the drug could have been laced with PCP.
While test results are pending, local officials suspect the K2 might have been laced with an opiate or fentanyl.
New Haven Fire Chief John Alston Jr. said during a news conference that the opiate problem extends far beyond New Haven.
“People are self-medicating for several different reasons and every agency — police, fire, medical, hospitals — all are strained at this time. This is a problem that’s not going away,” Alston said.
Police have not identified the suspect, but said the person is “known to them.”
Check back for updates.