Two people are in custody after the death of a baby and the hospitalization of three other children in an incident Friday at a day care building in the Bronx, NYPD officials tell News 4 New York.
The day care owner and a male occupant of the space are in police custody and will be charged, according to two senior law enforcement officials with direct knowledge of the case.
On Friday afternoon, emergency officials responded to the building off Morris Avenue in the Kingsbridge section and found two babies needing medical attention. The kids were rushed to a local hospital in critical condition, officials added.
One of those children, a 1-year-old boy, later died. Police said the other child was still being treated at the hospital in critical condition.
The first 911 call was made around 2:45 p.m. reporting that two children were suffering from cardiac arrest, sources said. When they arrived emergency officials found two children in cardiac arrest and a third who was ill, according to police sources.
A fourth child was picked up from the day care but their mother and was brought to the hospital, police said.
Get Tri-state area news and weather forecasts to your inbox. Sign up for NBC New York newsletters.
All the children were two years old and younger.
News
A source familiar with the investigation said at least one of the children responded to Narcan.
Investigators initially suspected a possible carbon monoxide leak at the apartment building where a day care is located, but FDNY officials ruled that out.
In a briefing Friday evening, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said the four children came in contact with an opioid.
Drugs and drug paraphernalia were found in building, NYPD Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey said in comments on Saturday. Maddrey confirmed two arrests have been made in the case.
"This crisis is real and it is a real wake up call for individuals who have opioids or fentanyl in their homes," Adams said. "The mere contact is deadly for an adult and extremely deadly for a child."
The day care owner sublets a room in the building to a man, two senior police officials tell News 4.
Spokespersons for the NYPD and FDNY did not have an explanation for what happened to the children Friday afternoon.
"Tonight is every parent's worst nightmare," said NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban.
An investigation is ongoing.
"We are going to find out the cause of this incident," Adams said. "To the families, this is clearly an impact on us all."
