Pasadena police search for link between 6 possible drug overdoses, 2 deaths

PASADENA, Calif. -- Police in California launched an investigation after authorities received calls of six people showing signs of drug overdoses during a six-hour period in the same city.

Pasadena officials said two patients died, three recovered and one remained in a hospital receiving treatment, The Pasadena Star-News reported Saturday.

Authorities could not say conclusively whether the two men who died succumbed to drug overdoses until they receive a coroner's autopsy findings, but police said they believe the cases may involve fentanyl.

Police responded to three calls between about 9 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. Friday, Pasadena police Lt. Anthony Russo said.

The two men who died were believed to be in their 40s and both were dead upon arrival, Russo said.

Three other patients were taken to area hospitals by paramedics who responded to calls between 4:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. Friday, Pasadena Fire Department spokeswoman Lisa Derderian said.

Pasadena police spokesman Lt. Bill Grisafe called the suspected overdose surge an anomaly.''

This is not something that we have seen in the past in Pasadena, Grisafe said.

The patients were men ranging in age from their 30s to 50s. It was not immediately known if drugs suspected in the cases were obtained from the same source, Grisafe said.