2-year-old girl dies in Minneapolis shelter of suspected fentanyl poisoning, police say

A 2-year-old girl died of suspected fentanyl poisoning late Tuesday afternoon in a shelter near downtown Minneapolis, police say.

Off- and on-duty Minneapolis police officers responded around 5:30 p.m. to the Higher Ground Catholic Charities shelter, at 165 Glenwood Av., to a 911 call about an unresponsive child, Police Chief Brian O’Hara said at a news conference outside the shelter.

Officers found the toddler in the apartment with two adults. They began life-saving measures including CPR and administered Narcan after seeing evidence of narcotics, said O’Hara, who was one of the responding officers. One of the suspected drugs present was fentanyl, he said.

The girl was transported to HCMC, where she was pronounced dead.

The two adults at the scene were taken to the Police Department’s investigations bureau for questioning, O’Hara said. One of the adults is believed to be a parent of the girl. The toddler’s 7-year-old sister was also at the apartment and was unharmed, O’Hara said.

“It’s terrible; we’re parents, we’re siblings ... just seeing things like this are difficult,” O’Hara said.

The Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office has not yet confirmed the cause of death, but O’Hara said police suspect drugs were involved.

Asked about the broader opioid epidemic both locally and nationwide, O’Hara lamented the availability of fentanyl.

“It’s impacting people not just in Minneapolis, but in cities and small towns all over the region,” he said. “That’s why Narcan is important, but sometimes it’s not enough and we’re not able to get there in time.”

The shelter offers 171 emergency homeless shelter beds and 80 “pay-for-stay” beds, which cost $7 per night, according to the Catholic Charities website. The “pay-for-stay” option provides beds, lockers, linens, showers and access to employment resources to men trying to leave homelessness, the website says.