NYC Mayor Calls for ‘National Assault’ on Fentanyl After 1-Year-Old Dies of Suspected Opioid Exposure

New York Mayor Eric Adams speaks during a press conference at the NYPD 40th Precinct in New York on July 17, 2023. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

New York City Mayor Eric Adams has called for a “national assault” on fentanyl following the arrest of the owner of a Bronx daycare facility where a 1-year-old boy died after allegedly being exposed to opioids.

Mr. Adams made the comments after meeting with the parents of baby Nicholas Dominici on Sept. 18; just days after suspects Carlisto Acevedo Brito, 41, and Grei Mendez, 36, were arrested and charged with murder, manslaughter, assault, depraved indifference, and multiple drug charges.

Both suspects were ordered to be held without bail.

“This was probably one of the worst days I’ve had of going up to the Bronx, sitting down with those parents, losing their babies like this,” Mr. Adams said. “They dropped the babies off to a daycare center hoping that their children would be protected by the caregivers.”

The Democrat also thanked the New York Police Department for their thorough investigation into the death of the baby boy and the prompt arrest of the two suspects.

According to police, first responders were called to Divino Nino Daycare, located in Kingsbridge Heights Community in the Bronx, on Sept. 15 following reports of cardiac arrest.

Upon arriving at the home-based daycare center, officials found three children—two 2-year-old boys and an 8-month-old girl—who were unresponsive and “demonstrating symptoms of opioid exposure.”

Fentanyl pills found by officers from the Drug Enforcement Administration are seen in this handout picture, in New York, on Oct. 4, 2022. Drug Enforcement Administration/Handout via Reuters

Fentanyl Found at Daycare

First responders administered Narcan to the three children, police said, and two of them—a 2-year-old boy and an 8-month-old girl—recovered, however, the one-year-old boy was later pronounced dead at Montefiore Hospital.

Additionally, police learned that another child, a 2-year-old boy, was taken home by his mother from the same daycare center earlier in the day. However, once at home, his mother had noticed the child was acting lethargic and unresponsive, police said.

That child was ultimately taken to BronxCare Hospital where staff administered Narcan and saved his life.

Testing of all the children found fentanyl in their systems, police said.

After searching the daycare center, police found drug production equipment including a total of three-kilo presses, which are typically used to package large quantities of drugs, officials said.

A kilogram of fentanyl was also discovered in an area that was used to give the children naps, police said, noting that it had been laid underneath a mat where the children had been sleeping earlier in the day, meaning they likely inhaled it.

Along with murder and manslaughter charges, Ms. Mendez and Mr. Brito have also been charged with the possession of a controlled substance and endangering the welfare of a child.

A drug user displays fentanyl in the Tenderloin District of San Francisco on Feb. 23, 2023. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

‘Full National Assault’ on Fentanyl Needed

According to officials, Mr. Brito was a tenant renting a room from Ms. Mendez inside the daycare center, which opened up around the same time he arrived in the United States from the Dominican Republic. Police, in conjunction with federal partners and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), are looking into the timing of the daycare center opening.

As part of the ongoing investigation, law enforcement officials are also hoping to speak to another “person of interest,” they said.

“This is just total madness that we lost a child to this dangerous substance, and we almost lost three. We almost lost four children to this dangerous substance. There needs to be a full national assault on this drug entering our city. This is a new drug. This is not a new type of battle, and people need to understand this. This is not the marijuana on your tabletop, this is a dangerous drug that a small amount like this can kill an adult,” Mr. Adams said Monday.

“So, if you are handling this and you have it on your hands, you have it on your clothing and then you pick up your child, you’re exposing them to the potential of this danger,” he said.

Mr. Adams noted that neither Ms. Mendez nor Mr. Brito had prior arrests before they were charged last week. He added that Ms. Mendez was acting as caretaker of the daycare facility at the time the babies were discovered with symptoms of opioid exposure.

Police are continuing to investigate the matter and are currently seeking Ms. Mendez’s husband for questioning.

In the meantime, Ms. Mendez’s attorney has claimed she was unaware drugs were being stored in her daycare center by Mr. Brito, who is reportedly her husband’s cousin.

Speaking during his client’s arraignment last week, attorney Andres Aranda said: "Her only crime was renting her room to someone who had a kilo.

“There is no evidence that she did anything but care properly for these children,” the lawyer added.