Fentanyl pumped through air vents at juvenile detention center, hospitalizing at least 7 people — including children

  At least seven people — including children — were hospitalized Sunday after fentanyl was released into the ventilation system at a juvenil...

 At least seven people — including children — were hospitalized Sunday after fentanyl was released into the ventilation system at a juvenile detention center in Stryker, Ohio.

The incident took place at the Northeast Ohio Juvenile Detention Training and Rehabilitation Center around 8:30 p.m.

What are the details?

First responders from the Williams County Sheriff's Department as well as those from the Stryker Police Department and Bryan Fire Department responded to a call from the center that evening reporting that multiple people — including juveniles — were falling unconscious for unknown reasons.

Authorities conducted an investigation into the facility and found that fentanyl had been released into the air vents.

Of the seven people hospitalized, four were juvenile residents and three were wardens.

Williams County Sheriff's Department Chief Deputy Jeff Lehman told WTVG-TV that the victims are in stable condition and are expected to recover.

The Daily Mail reported that the facility primarily houses juveniles awaiting trial and has a capacity to hold 64 juveniles. 

The rest of the facility's juvenile residents were transferred to a nearby facility while authorities continue their investigation into the disturbing incident. They will be housed in the neighboring Corrections Center of Northwest Ohio — an adult facility — and will be kept isolated until it is safe to return to the juvenile detention center. 

Authorities did not say how the deadly opioid wound up in the facility's ventilation system.

What else?

Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, can be up to 100 times stronger than morphine and 50 times stronger than heroin.

According to a recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 105,752 Americans died from drug overdoses in the 12 months leading up to October 2021. The health organization reported that at least two-thirds of those deaths were linked to exposure to synthetic opioids like fentanyl.