THE BRONX, N.Y. (PIX11) — A kilo press that packages “large quantities of drugs” was found inside a Bronx day care where four small children overdosed, one fatally, according to the NYPD Chief of Detectives.
Flanked by Mayor Eric Adams, Police Commissioner Edward Caban, and Health Commissioner Ashwin Vasan at Montefiore Medical Center, Chief Joe Kenny explained that three of the children were found unresponsive inside Divino Nino on Morris Avenue at 2:43 p.m. Friday and “exhibiting symptoms of opioid exposure.”
Narcan was administered and revived two of them, a 2-year-old boy and 8-month-old girl. But 1-year-old Nicholas Dominici could not be saved.
Adams said he had spoken to the mother and father who lost their baby son. It’s believed fentanyl could have been involved in the child’s death, sources said.
“To see the pain they are experiencing is something that all of us New Yorkers are experiencing and all of us who are parents,” the mayor said.
Chief Kenny said a fourth child had been removed from the day care at 12:15 p.m. Friday by his mother and brought home.
The 2-year-old boy was acting “lethargic and unresponsive,” so the mother brought him to Bronx Care, where Narcan was administered.
“His life was saved,” Kenny said.
Health Commissioner Vasan noted opioids are powerful drugs driving the city’s overdose crisis, adding “A small child is not someone we would think would be at risk of interaction….It can come through inhalation, ingestion, or through touching the skin, intoxicating the recipient.”
Sadly, small children have been exposed to opioids like fentanyl before, often in homes, sometimes with deadly results.
“This crisis is real and it is a real wake-up call for individuals who have opioids or fentanyl in their homes,” Adams said.
The health commissioner said Divino Nino day care was a “home-based” child care site that opened in January under the official authority of the New York State Office of Children and Family Services.
Vasan said the city’s Department of Health conducted inspections on behalf of the state, with the most recent one being a “surprise” inspection last week. He said no violations were found during the Sept. 9 visit.
The chief of detectives said investigators are actively looking for the people who were utilizing the kilo press found in the day care.
“Tonight is every parent’s worst nightmare,” Police Commissioner Caban said.
