Newport News police put out a safety warning Friday night after emergency personnel responded to four heroin overdoses in four hours, with one death.
A 23-year old man died Friday from a heroin overdose in Newport News. Police did not release other details on the death.
Three others, all men between the age of mid-20s to early 40s, also overdosed in the north and central areas of Newport News.
Authorities warn drug users who purchased heroin in the last 24 to 48 hours that the use of the drug could result in overdose or even death.
“The department’s Organized Crime Division is investigating these incidents,” police spokeswoman Holly McPherson said in an e-mail. “However, at this time we cannot say for certain that these incidents are connected besides the fact that all victims used heroin.”
Nationally, since 2000, there has been a 200 percent spike in the rate of overdose deaths from opioid pain relievers and heroin, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
For more information on heroin and its addictive properties, click here.
For information on how to get help for a heroin or other addiction, click here.
