Young students at a private school in Brooklyn found a brightly colored capsule filled with a powder believed to be fentanyl while playing in a neighborhood park, The Post has learned.
Students at the Brooklyn Waldorf School in Bedford-Stuyvesant made the potentially fatal discovery during a routine visit to the nearby Crispus Attucks playground on Wednesday.
Parents were notified of the incident in an email that was later shared on social media among concerned families in the trendy neighborhood. The message that circulated included a reference image of the small, conspicuous containers, known as “garbage cans” and commonly used for fentanyl, an opioid that is 100 times more potent than morphine.
“First, know that all the children are safe and healthy!” reads the message obtained Friday by The Post. “Our teachers handled the situation wonderfully and in an age-appropriate way.
“We remind the children of the class rule that we only collect things made by nature and in particular some things that are not made by nature like these ‘little trash cans’ can have poison and the children should never touch them, just report them to adults immediately,” the notice continued.
In August 2021, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) warned the public about so-called “junk” drug vials.
Police in the northwest US first detected fentanyl mixtures in so-called “dumpsters” in 2019. They are especially dangerous for children as they can easily be mistaken for a colorful candy.
“The novelty of the packaging is attractive. It’s distinctive. And like any other product, drug sales are, in many ways, about marketing,” DEA officials warned the public in 2021 as the trend intensified.
In December 2022, the 10-month-old son of a California tech titan overdosed and nearly died after somehow ingesting fentanyl while playing in a San Francisco park.
Last month, a 21-month-old boy died after being exposed to fentanyl at his Bronx daycare. Three other children became ill.
A copy of the message sent to parents of Brooklyn Waldorf School students after Wednesday’s disturbing discovery. Provided to NY Post. A concerned parent circulated a photo of the small lidded capsules along with the school’s message after the Oct. 4 discovery in Crispus. Attucks Playground. provided to NY Post
In a statement to The Post, Christina Pantazis-Blades, director of the Brooklyn Waldorf School, noted that “the parents of the students were notified the same day of the incident” and “as a community organization that has been here for more than fifteen years years, we are always aware of our surroundings and stay in regular contact with authorities and other city agencies.”
The dangerous find was not reported to police on Wednesday, an NYPD spokesperson told The Post.
“We cannot comment on the details of specific conversations, but we regularly work with law enforcement and other agencies in our neighborhood,” he said in a statement.
Officials with the NYPD and the city’s Department of Parks and Recreation said they were investigating the incident when contacted by The Post on Friday.
Brooklyn Waldorf School at 11 Jefferson Avenue in Brooklyn. Students found a fentanyl capsule at the nearby Crispus Attucks playground on Oct. 4, The Post has learned.JC Rice
Brooklyn Waldorf serves students from preschool through eighth grade. Tuition at the school reaches $41,950.
The message sent to Waldorf parents in Brooklyn noted that similar “trash bins” had been seen at several local playgrounds and urged them to be vigilant.
“Please insist that these are not child-safe objects!” she concluded. “Stay safe, urban parents!”
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Source: vtt.edu.vn