Two Arrested After 1-Year-Old Dies Following Suspected Opioid Exposure at Bronx Daycare
A one-year-old boy has died, and three other children are in critical condition after they were allegedly exposed to opioids at a home-based daycare in the Bronx, New York.
New York police held a press conference on Saturday, stating that a child had died and three others were critically ill following suspected opioid exposure at Divino Niño Daycare in Kingsbridge, Bronx.
Authorities said they received a 911 call from the daycare just before 3:00 p.m. on Friday, reporting three unconscious children. According to the NYPD, upon arriving at the location, investigators found a one-year-old, a two-year-old, and an eight-month-old all unconscious, revealing signs of exposure to "unknown opioids."
In addition to the three children found at the daycare, another two-year-old boy who had left the facility less than an hour before the investigators arrived was later found by his mother to be "lethargic and unresponsive."
It was reported that all the children had eaten around 1:00 p.m. and then took a nap. When daycare workers tried to wake them up afterward, they found the children unresponsive. "All three children were unresponsive and demonstrating symptoms of opioid exposure. Narcan was administered to all three of these children in an attempt to save their lives," the authorities said.
Mayor Eric Adams also spoke at the press conference, saying, “This crisis is real, and is a real wake-up call for individuals who have opioids or fentanyl in their homes. Our hearts break for these families that are involved.”
NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny stated that during a search at Divino Niño Daycare, a kilo press was found, which is commonly used by drug dealers for packaging large quantities of cocaine.
Photos released of the daycare reportedly showed an open box of Lucky Charms cereal near the sink and a bag of Lays potato chips dangerously close to a stove burner. Plastic water bottles were seen in the sink, and bags of popcorn were scattered near the microwave.
Grei Mendez de Ventura, who was running the daycare at the time, and Carlisto Acevedo Brito, from whom she sublet the room, have both been taken into custody and are currently being questioned by police.
The deceased child was identified as one-year-old Nicholas Dominici, while the identities of the other three children have been kept confidential.
Police said that an autopsy will be conducted to determine Dominici's cause of death, and tests will be carried out on the surviving children to identify what drugs they may have been exposed to.
