Ten Overdose Cases Reported in Baltimore’s Penn North Neighborhood

Ten people overdosed on Wednesday in Baltimore’s Penn North neighborhood, just over two months after a “bad batch” of drugs sent at least 27 people to hospitals.

According to Baltimore Police spokesperson Chakia Fennoy, six people, five men and one woman, ages 30 to 60, were taken to nearby hospitals shortly after 11:30 a.m. The other four refused treatment. No fatalities were reported.

Mayor Brandon Scott’s administration deployed the city’s Overdose Response Office and Health Department to the area following the incident.

Bill Brooks, CEO of the Penn North Recovery Center, said he noticed an unusual number of sirens in the neighborhood earlier in the day. The area consistently records the city’s highest number of overdose-related 911 calls. His team joined other city agencies and organizations distributing Narcan, an overdose-reversal drug, in response.

Brooks said residents were angry at drug dealers for supplying increasingly dangerous substances. “They’re mad at drug dealers that are making this stuff that’s causing these ODs,” he said. “It’s always something new.”

State testing shows that fentanyl is now often mixed with chemicals and benzodiazepine derivatives, making Baltimore’s drug supply more unpredictable and deadly. Officials have not yet determined what caused Wednesday’s overdoses.

At the intersection of Pennsylvania and North avenues, resident Natasha Witherspoon described an unusually quiet scene where people typically gather. She recalled July’s mass overdose event as “a madhouse,” with outreach workers and first responders flooding the streets. “It’s tiring at this point,” she said. “It’s killing the community.”

Baltimore continues to face one of the highest fatal overdose rates among large U.S. cities, with deaths occurring on roughly a third of city blocks at a rate of two to three per day. City officials have set a goal to reduce overdose deaths by 40% by 2040 through expanded outreach, public engagement, and safe spaces for those seeking help.

Ten People Overdose in Baltimore’s Penn North Neighborhood, Two Months After Previous Mass Incident  was originally published on wolbbaltimore.com