Two girls died at a Tennessee high school this week in suspected overdoses after having taken a drug combination that authorities believe included fentanyl, the latest reminder of how rampantly the lethal drug has made its way to young people in recent years.
A third girl, a 17-year-old student who also overdosed at Fayette-Ware Comprehensive High School in Somerville but has since been released from a hospital, was charged as a juvenile with two counts of second-degree murder and possession of a controlled substance, said Mark Davidson, the district attorney general for the 25th Judicial District, which includes Fayette County. Somerville is about 45 miles northeast of Memphis.
Davidson told NBC News that while fentanyl is suspected to have played a role in the deaths of the students, ages 16 and 17, on Tuesday, the medical examiner still has to determine the cause and manner of their deaths.
