'Shocking and hurtful': Quincy residents talk recent overdoses; 5 Gretna cases connected

Christopher Cann, Tallahassee Democrat
·3 min read
1

Last Saturday, a woman from Quincy got a phone call that her niece was "not responsive."

Questions poured out of her mouth as fast as she constructed them. When she reached Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare, she was told her niece had likely overdosed.

It occurred during a party.

Sometime Friday night, a man passed out, said the aunt who asked that neither she or her family be identified. She spoke with the Tallahassee Democrat at a pastors and chaplains prayer event Friday morning.

Comprehensive coverage:

Gadsden County Emergency Medical Services picked the man up and rushed him to the hospital.

Then, in the presence of her daughter and grandchildren, the woman in her early 40s fell on the floor unconscious, her aunt stated. After which she was taken to the hospital by Gadsden County EMS.

The woman said her niece uses marijuana, but did not know whether she took something else that may have led to her collapse.

Gretna Police Chief Brian Alexander confirmed the two overdoses Friday night, and said they were connected to the five total overdoses in Gretna over the weekend.

Jimmy Salters, the chaplain for the Gadsden County Sheriff's Office, leads prayers at an event Friday, July 8, 2022 beside the Gadsden County Courthouse in Quincy, Fla. to grieve those affected by the recent fentanyl overdoses.
Jimmy Salters, the chaplain for the Gadsden County Sheriff's Office, leads prayers at an event Friday, July 8, 2022 beside the Gadsden County Courthouse in Quincy, Fla. to grieve those affected by the recent fentanyl overdoses.

"Most of them are friends or relatives," he said, adding that Gretna police obtained a "baggy" off one of the victims and were awaiting test results from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

Alexander said everyone who overdosed in Gretna last weekend has been released from Tallahassee hospitals Sunday or Monday.

Throughout the rest of the county, including Havana Quincy and Chattahoochee, nine people died from suspected fentanyl overdoses.

The woman's niece was released from TMH Monday, but she is "not the same."

"She's just slow to respond," the aunt said. "She sits back and looks just in a stare... it messed with her brain."

Crowd gathers for prayer service

The aunt attended the prayer event Friday to ask what will be done for those people directly affected by the overdoses, which local law enforcement says likely stems from fentanyl-laced drugs.

"These people that come out of overdoses need help," she said, adding that there should be programs to make sure they don't return to drug use. She also said she was classmates with one of the two women found dead Friday night inside a St. Hebron Community home.

A woman sings and plays piano during an event Friday, July 8, 2022 beside the Gadsden County Courthouse in Quincy, Fla. to grieve those affected by the recent fentanyl overdoses.
A woman sings and plays piano during an event Friday, July 8, 2022 beside the Gadsden County Courthouse in Quincy, Fla. to grieve those affected by the recent fentanyl overdoses.

Friday afternoon's event saw local officials and pastors from across Gadsden and Leon County pray and grieve for those affected by the 19 recent overdoses of which nine were fatal. A crowd of about 30 people sat on white folding chairs under the shade of a large tree on the lawn of the Gadsden County courthouse, 10 E. Jefferson St.

Sterling Barkley, a life-long Quincy resident and local pastor with the Greater Tanner Chapel AME Church, said he grew up around one man who was hospitalized over the weekend from an overdose.

"He's doing much better now, but... it's a shocking and hurtful time," he said. "I've never witnessed that loss of life, especially (from) drugs."

Others echoed the uncanny feeling spread throughout the community as word spread of what law enforcement has called a "fentanyl overdose crisis."

Attendees bow their heads in prayer at an event Friday, July 8, 2022 beside the Gadsden County Courthouse in Quincy, Fla. to grieve those affected by the recent fentanyl overdoses.
Attendees bow their heads in prayer at an event Friday, July 8, 2022 beside the Gadsden County Courthouse in Quincy, Fla. to grieve those affected by the recent fentanyl overdoses.

One woman, who did not want to be named, said she's worked as a local pharmacist for 40 years in Gadsden County and was dismayed by the "tragic" overdoses.

"It's disturbing and heartbreaking," she said, adding: "I came here for concern and love for my community."

Leon County Commissioner Bill Proctor attended the event as a preacher representing Salem AME Church in Greensboro.

"We know you're busy, Lord... but won't you come by here... won't you please come over to Gadsden County 'cause, we need you," he said to applause and head nods. "If we ever needed you before, we sure do need you now."

Contact Christopher Cann at ccann@tallahassee.com and follow @ChrisCannFL on Twitter.

Never miss a story: Subscribe to the Tallahassee Democrat using the link at the top of the page.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Residents, pastors, officials grapple with fentanyl overdoses in Gadsden