HAYS COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — The Hays County Sheriff’s Office said a 15-year-old died from a suspected fentanyl poisoning Monday.
Hays County Deputy Anthony Hipolito said the sheriff’s office got a call about a juvenile possibly deceased. When they arrived with EMS, they found the teen dead.
Deputy Hipolito said it is a suspected fentanyl poisoning, but they are still waiting to get the toxicology report back.
“If it does turn out to be a fentanyl poisoning that resulted in death, that investigation will be worked backward, essentially to try to figure out where this juvenile got the suspected fentanyl from,” said Hipolito.
It’s a tragedy the community is seeing time and time again.
The loss of six students
In May, Hays CISD said in an email to parents that six students have died due to suspected fentanyl overdoses since summer 2022.
Last school year, the district launched its fighting fentanyl campaign in response to the deaths. It created a series of public service announcement videos to help students and parents understand the dangers of this drug.
One of the videos showed the moments a teenage boy overdosed on fentanyl outside of a Hays CISD campus. It was caught on surveillance footage.
A mother’s mission
Janel Rodriguez is one of the Hays CISD parents who lost a child to fentanyl.
Since her son Noah passed away in August 2022, she’s made it her mission to educate students and parents about the drug.
Rodriguez started an organization called Forever 15 Project. She goes across the state and country speaking in front of school districts.
Along with that, she and her husband took their fight against fentanyl to the nation’s capital. Her husband, Brandon Dunn, gave an emotional testimony in front of the House Judiciary Committee.
Rodriguez said hearing the news about the most recent suspected fentanyl poisoning was heartbreaking.
“It really bothered me. I cried,” Rodriguez said. “It angered me, to be honest. I was angry, upset, just so many emotions.”
KXAN’s Sarah Al-Shaikh will have more on this story. You can watch it on KXAN News at 6 p.m.
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