Crime & Safety

One in Coma, Another Hospitalized Due to Bad Batch of Heroin

Local police are working with other agencies to determine if the tainted batch of heroin is connected to other recent overdoses.

UPDATE [2:05 p.m.]: A third individual in Salem has been hospitalized due to an overdose in connection to this batch of heroin.


ORIGINAL STORY [11:55 a.m. on Jan. 28]: 
Salem emergency responders used life-saving measures Monday afternoon on two individuals found unconscious in a driveway after overdosing on a batch of heroin police believe may have been tainted.

Deputy Police Chief Shawn Patten said a 20-year-old Haverhill, Mass., woman is currently in a coma and in critical condition at a Boston-area hospital, while a 21-year-old Salem man is in stable condition at a different hospital.

The individuals' names won't be released until family members are notified, according to Patten.

Patten said crews responded to 12 Ticklefancy Lane at about 4:35 p.m. Monday after receiving a call about two people who were found unconscious and not breathing in a vehicle in the driveway at that address.

Police believe that the man and woman, along with a third individual, purchased heroin in Lawrence, Mass., and snorted it on the way to Salem before overdosing, according to Patten.

[Editor's note: That third individual has since overdosed as well.]
Patten said police "are aware of similar overdoses in the area" and that "a possible bad batch" of heroin is being distributed in the area. He said his department will contact other area law enforcement agencies as part of its investigation.
Heroin is a common drug in southern New Hampshire, and a police department in another Patch town in the area recently had three overdoses due to a possibly tainted batch of heroin. One of those individuals has died.
Salem police say the incidents could be connected, and that the possible connection "will be part of the investigation."


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