Five women working at a Hackensack mall had to be revived after they ingested fentanyl and overdosed Wednesday night.
Fire officials and paramedics rushed to the rescue after reports of a mass overdose emerged from the Shope at Riverside mall.
Shoppers performed CPR on the five women, aged between 29 and 41, until first responders arrived and administered naxolone.
“They did what they were taught to do and they saved a life, along with these civilians that were one scene,” Capt. Mike Anista said.
“This is not a random incident at the mall. The stores within the mall are safe, and there is no danger to the public.”
Hackensack Police Director Ray Guidetti believes that the women did not know that there were using fentanyl-laced drugs.
“We're seeing this all over the country. We talk about this as overdoses, but it's more about poisoning. A lot of the folks that are victims of this don't know what they're taking,” he said.
A resident said she had heard rumors about drug use at the mall.
“It definitely is known for a lot of drug use, the lower levels. It's definitely a place where people go. They had to use Narcan on all of them, which is so scary,” she said.
