Kids find parents dead from overdoses

‘TRAGIC’

Fentanyl has been the cause of many of the recent overdoses in Calgary, but not all of them.

“There are other illegal drugs that are responsible for taking the lives of people in situations like this,” said Hatchette.

“Illegal drug use and prescription drug overuse can be fatal and, unfortunately, those that are addicted, they, by any means, try and get those drugs to support their habit,” he said.

“When you do purchase drugs on the street in an illegal manner, you never know what you’re going to get.

“Even though you’re asking for a certain drug, it is 99.9 per cent of the time not the drug that you ask for, and over the course of the drug trafficking and the people that produce these drugs, they’re cut with multiple other different substances that are both toxic and fatal, in some cases.”

Hatchette said the children who found their parents Saturday are safe and that the appropriate agencies have been notified. The victims were both in their 30s.

He noted it’s traumatic each time first responders encounter these types of calls.

“It is getting close to Christmastime, and these are holiday situations where a tragic event takes the forefront in everybody’s heart,” he said.

“And everyone in the Calgary Police Service, especially the first responders on scene, they’re affected in a very profound way … it’s a very, very sad event.”