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Baby dies at day care of suspected opioid exposure, 3 kids in hospital

Police suspect the children at the New York City day care consumed fentanyl or some other form of opioid that left them unresponsive.
Baby dies at daycare of suspected fentanyl consumption, 3 hospitalized
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A baby died at a New York City day care center and three other children were hospitalized after possibly consuming fentanyl or some other form of opioid.

Police received calls Friday around 2:40 p.m. about four unresponsive children at Divino Niño Daycare in the Bronx.

A 1-year-old was pronounced dead, and three others — an 8-month-old girl and two 2-year-old boys — were hospitalized, police told Scripps News. The children were reportedly put down for nap time and had eaten something 90 minutes prior.

Of the surviving children, a 2-year-old is listed in critical condition and the others are stable.

At least some of the children were administered Narcan, according to reports.

Twenty-six-year-old Mel Ramirez, who lives next to the day care, told The New York Post that she heard a worker screaming in horror.

"She was yelling for help. She was screaming and saying, 'The kids are dead! The kids are dead!' multiple times," Ramirez said.

SEE MORE: 'What the hell is going on?' Questions surround child fentanyl deaths

A neighbor, 73-year-old Anna Ortiz Irving, said the day care is run by a mother and daughter who live in the building.

"It's a legit day care. It's brand new. Just a few kids, mostly babies. They're such decent people," Irving told the Post.

"I watched them fix the whole place up. It was beautiful, all according to city code. If I had a baby, I would send it there," she said. 

Police are continuing to investigate the incident. A search warrant was being executed Friday night.


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