Teacher overdoses on deadly fentanyl in front of horrified students during class
A middle school art teacher overdosed on deadly fentanyl in a classroom-full of his horrified students.
Frank Thompson, 57, has been arrested after being found unresponsive in a second-floor classroom of Roosevelt Intermediate School in Westfield, New Jersey after 9am on November 29 last year.
Westfield Police Department said students initially raised concerns about Thompson's health before he was treated by a school nurse.
When cops arrived, one immediately suspected the teacher had overdosed and injected naloxone - a medication that reverses the effects of opioids.
Attending officers administered naloxone to reverse the effects of the overdose (Getty Images/iStockphoto)According to cops, the teacher's condition rapidly improved.
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Police later searched the classroom as part of their investigation and discovered fentanyl and drug-taking paraphernalia in the cupboard.
Fox 5 reported that the school district had sent a letter to parents explaining the classroom had been sealed off and sanitised in light of the discovery.
Classes were moved to a different location while the cleaning took place. A former teacher took Thompson's place in the class.
Thompson, who overdosed in November, was only charged on January 5 for possession of a controlled dangerous substance, possession of drug paraphernalia, endangering the welfare of children and a disorderly person offence.
His first court appearance is scheduled for February 1.
Just a pencil tip size dose of fentanyl can kill (Getty Images/iStockphoto)“While the Westfield Public School District cannot comment on personnel matters which are confidential, we will maintain a continued focus on student and staff safety and on preserving the integrity of the classroom learning environment,” says Superintendent Dr. Raymond González.
“We are grateful for our strong partnership with the Westfield Police Department.”
All Westfield cops, like countless other law enforcement departments across the US, carry Naloxone (Narcan) as opioid use in the states continues to surge.
The Westfield department administered it to overdose victims 13 times last year, Fox reports.
It comes after it emerged that enough fentanyl was seized in the US in 2022 to kill every single American citizen, according to federal drug agents.
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More than 397 million fatal fentanyl doses have been intercepted, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) - with just two milligrams enough to be deadly.
The drug is a highly addictive substance and 50 times more lethal than heroin, with the opioid being mostly trafficked into the US from Mexico.
One dose the size of a pencil point can kill you.
There has been more than 10,000lb (4,500kg) of fentanyl seized in the US including 50.6m fentanyl pills which are designed to look like different prescription painkillers such as Xanax, Percocet and OxyContin.
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