7 Washington inmates treated for fentanyl overdoses

A man in custody in a jail north of Seattle is facing additional charges after officials say seven incarcerated people were treated for signs of overdosing on fentanyl.

The Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office said officials administered Narcan to seven people in the jail in Everett on Wednesday evening, The Daily Herald reported.

A corrections deputy first noticed a person in custody showing signs of an opiate overdose at about 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. While medical staff were responding, another person in the same area of the jail began showing similar signs. A total of seven inmates began displaying physical signs of an overdose, according to the sheriff’s office. Jail staff called a medical emergency and administered naxolone to the inmates.

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Everett firefighters took them to a local hospital and were all expected to survive, authorities said. Five have since been released from the hospital and returned to the jail, said Courtney O’Keefe, spokesperson for the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office.

The sheriff’s office said it locked down the housing area where the medical emergency occurred and searched everyone. Detectives found fentanyl inside the cell of a 37-year-old man, who they believe brought the substance into the facility.

The man, in the jail since Tuesday on allegations of theft, now faces two drug possession charges, according to the sheriff’s office.