HYATTSVILLE, Md. — Editor's note: The above video is from Aug. 25, 2022.
Two months after three men were found unconscious outside a Hyattsville apartment complex and later died, police announced what they believe is responsible for their deaths.
The City of Hyattsville Police Department announced over the weekend that the cause of death for three men who residents found unconscious outside of an apartment building on the 5700 block of Queens Chapel Road on Aug. 24, was fentanyl overdose.
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According to investigators, autopsy results show 45-year-old Julian Martinez Aguirrez and 37-year-old Walter Cáceres Fuentes died due to fentanyl and alcohol intoxication. The medical examiner determined fentanyl overdose was solely the cause of death for the third man, 30-year-old Jose Rios Escobar.
Around 11 p.m., on Aug. 24, EMS responded and found the men unconscious and not breathing. Medics administered Narcan and performed CPR but were unable to revive them. There was no visible evidence of trauma to their bodies and police did not find evidence of recreational drugs on or near them. Police are still searching for the source of the fentanyl.
“We continue to sound the alarm to the dangers of fentanyl use, whether intentional or unintentional through innocent-looking candy or hidden in other recreational drugs,” said Hyattsville City Chief of Police Jarod J. Towers said in a press statement. “We know fentanyl is being illegally sold in the DMV. We want to remind everyone that a physical response to the drug can happen quickly and can be deadly. This Halloween, parents especially need to examine the candy their children are eating,” he said.
The week of Aug. 24, Hyattsville police officers responded to two other incidents involving four teenagers who overdosed on undetermined narcotics. Officers revived one teen with Narcan. All four recovered in the hospital.