‘Fentanyl steals your friends’: Pills bought on social media are killing kids in classrooms and in their beds
All over America, families are being broken by fentanyl.
Fifty times more powerful than heroin, this deadly drug is more addictive than anything that’s come before. It’s been in circulation in America for a decade, fuelling an unprecedented addiction crisis.
A ruthless criminal network stretching back to Mexico, China and beyond, is pushing it into schools, clubs and onto the streets to hook people. In the US, more than 70,000 people a year are being killed by this synthetic opioid.
Now, in a terrifying twist, fentanyl is killing school children who are buying pills laced with the drug on social media, and overdosing in their classrooms and in their beds.
We travelled to the city of Kyle in Texas to hear the stories of families whose lives have been ripped apart. Gathered under a tree in a local park, they stood – united by grief – clutching photos of their loved ones. Some had sought painkillers. Others were desperate to sleep. Some were just teenagers experimenting. None wanted to die.
Families who have lost loved ones to fentanyl in Texas are speaking out
‘This is a war’
Jim Fraser: “We lost our daughter, Maile, on 17 February. She took something at home during the night, I guess, before she went to bed. We found her the next morning. She was 19 years old.
“We don’t know exactly what she took. But we know it was laced with fentanyl.
Jim and Veneeta Fraser
“She suffered from anxiety and depression, and was on a couple of medications for that. I guess she just wanted something stronger or different.
“This is a war. People from another country are attacking and killing our children. It’s got to stop.”
Veneeta Fraser: “Maile was a beautiful child. A bright light to everybody she came in contact with.
“She wasn’t addicted to anything. She couldn’t sleep and needed help – it speaks to the mental health crisis in this country.
“You don’t believe it could happen to you. And here we are. It truly could happen to anybody.”
Brandi Hickman spoke about what happened to her son
‘It started with marijuana’
Brandi Hickman: “Kids are supposed to learn from their mistakes, not die from them.
“Fentanyl doesn’t discriminate whether you’re rich or poor, black or white. It has no boundaries.
“My son, Andron, didn’t want to feel different. So he chose to self-medicate. It started with marijuana, the gateway drug – now fentanyl is being laced in marijuana as well.
“My message is live your life. You don’t want to be represented on the t-shirt that I have to wear of my son. You don’t want your parents to have to experience what we’re going through.”
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‘He thought it was a xanax’
Stefanie Turner: “The first time Tucker was offered a pill was at a New Year’s Eve party when he was 18 years old. He came home and told us about this pill that he was offered, he thought it was a xanax. We talked to him about not taking prescription medication.
“Little did I know that fentanyl was in the pill and how quickly that can create an addiction. Over the course of nine months, Tucker struggled. When he felt stressed, he would turn to a pill as his way of coping.
“Over the course of nine months, he went to two treatment centres.
“After four months of sobriety and what appeared to be living his best life, in September 2021 he chose to purchase another pill on social media.
“Tucker was found 10 hours later.”
Janet Zarate, Ray Brown and their family
‘Don’t think it can’t be your kid’
Janet Zarate: “Ryan Matthew Garcia Jr. Our “King Ryan”. He will be forever 17.
“He was an outgoing, smart, beautiful, happy, funny boy. He loved his job. He loved school and played football. He was a great athlete.
“Unfortunately, on 11 February, 2022, he took what he thought was a percocet [an opioid pain relief]. It was laced with fentanyl and it forever changed our lives.”
Ray Brown: “Don’t get it twisted and think it can’t be your kid.
“He was normal, happy. He wasn’t depressed. He wasn’t a drug addict. He was just a kid being a kid. And unfortunately he died as a kid being a kid.”
These families, spearheaded by Stefanie who founded the charity Texas United Against Fentanyl shortly after Tucker’s death, all desperately want to raise awareness of the dangers.
Their message was echoed by the Texas school teachers and police officers we met who are working tirelessly to combat this epidemic.
The teachers, some of whom keep the reversal treatment narcan on hand in case a student overdoses at school, are calling for more treatment for mental health in children, a need even more urgent after the isolation many young people faced over the COVID pandemic.
The police leading the drug busts want more resources and better border control. They need help to break the criminal chain that is supplying the drugs.
They all agree that action is needed now more than ever.
“Tucker was a deep thinker,” says Stefanie. “People often say, ‘Well, if he was so smart, why would he choose to use that drug?’ But it’s the drug. It’s so addictive and powerful – it steals lives. That’s what it did to our son.”
Children are among the fatalities in a mass shooting at a child’s birthday party in California.
Police said four people had died and 10 were wounded in the incident in Stockton, about 60 miles east of San Francisco.
Officers were called on Saturday to a banquet hall just before 6pm local time (2am UK time) and district attorney Ron Freitas said children were among the dead.
He said the attacker was still at large.
First responders walk through a parking lot near the scene of a mass shooting in Stockton, California. Pics: AP
“We can confirm at this time that approximately 14 individuals were struck by gunfire, and four victims have been confirmed deceased,” San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office said on X.
The post said early indications suggest it could be a “targeted incident” but that information remains limited.
Police have so far not disclosed the attacker’s identity and the motive is unclear.
Stockton’s vice mayor Jason Lee confirmed on Facebook that the shooting on Lucile Avenue happened at a child’s birthday party.
Pics: AP
Mayor Christina Fugazzi also said that “families should be together instead of at the hospital, standing next to their loved one, praying that they survive”.
California governor Gavin Newsom’s office added that he had been briefed on the “horrific shooting”.
Venezuela has accused Donald Trump of a “colonial threat” after he said the airspace “above and surrounding” the country should be considered closed “in its entirety”.
Mr Trump made the declaration amid growing tensions with President Maduro – and as the US continues attacking boats it claims are carrying drugs from Venezuela.
He wrote on Truth Social: “To all Airlines, Pilots, Drug Dealers, and Human Traffickers, please consider THE AIRSPACE ABOVE AND SURROUNDING VENEZUELA TO BE CLOSED IN ITS ENTIRETY.”
Air traffic above Venezuela on Saturday afternoon. Pic: FlightRadar24
Venezuela’s foreign affairs office called it a “colonial threat” and “illegal, and unjustified aggression”.
It accused the president of threatening “the sovereignty of the national airspace… and the full sovereignty of the Venezuelan state”.
President Trump’s words were part of a “permanent policy of aggression against our country” that breached international law and the UN Charter, it added.
The Pentagon and the White House have so far not given any additional detail on the president’s statement.
Mr Trump’s post comes after the American aviation regulator last week warned of a “potentially hazardous situation” over Venezuela due to a “worsening security situation”.
Nicolas Maduro is widely considered a dictator by the West. Pic: Reuters
The South American nation revoked operating rights for six major airlines that went on to suspend flights to the country.
Mr Trump warned a few days ago that land operations against suspected Venezuelan drug traffickers would begin “very soon”.
Such a move would be a major escalation in Operation Southern Spear – the US naval deployment in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific that’s so far attacked at least 21 vessels.
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Three killed as US strikes another alleged drug boat
Venezuela has said the attacks, which have killed more than 80 people, amount to murder.
The US has released videos of boats being targeted, but hasn’t provided evidence – such as photos of their cargo – to support the smuggling claims.
Read more:
Trump may have another motive in war on drugs
The US-Venezuela crisis explained
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Venezuela claims Trump creating ‘fables’ to justify ‘war’
The Pentagon has sought to justify the strikes by labelling the drug gangs as “foreign terrorist organisations” – putting them on par with the likes of al Qaeda.
It claims the boats targeted are carrying drugs bound for the US, although Sky’s chief correspondent says the final destination is likely to be Europe and West Africa.
President Maduro has denied Mr Trump’s claims he is involved in the drugs trade himself and said his counterpart wants to oust him so he can install a more sympathetic government.
Venezuelan officials have also claimed Mr Trump’s true motivation is access to the country’s plentiful oil reserves.
Mr Maduro is widely considered a dictator who’s cheated elections and has been president since 2013.
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