VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – Florida officials on Tuesday issued a spring break warning in Daytona Beach to help reduce the number of overdoses and crack down on drug use.
Attorney General Ashley Moody, Volusia Sheriff Mike Chitwood and Volusia Recovery Alliance Executive Director Karen Chrapek spoke during a news conference Tuesday.
“This spring break in Florida can create a lasting lifetime memory in a positive way. We also know that because millions will come to Florida, whether it’s seeking a break from scholastic studies or seeking a break from the harsh weather up north, they will come here and we know because of that and so many coming here, we lead the nation for those who overdose while on vacation,” Moody said. “And that is a stat we want to change.”
Moody said that many equate spring break with drug use and “we have got to stop that because we now know that so many illicit substances contain a lethal dose of fentanyl.”
She said seven out of 10 pills seized by the DEA contained a lethal dose of fentanyl.
“This is what kids are getting off the internet they’re getting from their friends at school. Many times they think it’s Adderall or Xanax, things that are prescribed or illicit, but they may not believe have fentanyl, they’re taking them from their friends and many children, young adults are dying,” Moody said.
Chitwood urged parents to children about the dangers of purchasing these drugs, especially during spring break.
“They think they’re buying this stuff off the street or they’re buying it from a classmate, therefore it’s good stuff. In reality it’s laced with fentanyl. We saw we had the kid from recently from Lake County, Polk County, armed with a gun 75 grams of marijuana, selling it on the beach to spring breakers. The very next day, the first car stop we make is an adult on the beach with trafficking amounts of meth inside of the car,” he said. “What was he here for? They’re here to sell to the kids and that stuff that they’re buying on the street is laced with fentanyl.”
The crackdown comes days after a fatal shooting in Jacksonville Beach and after a teen pulled a gun in a crowd of spring breakers at New Smyrna Beach.
According to the Volusia Sheriff’s Office, deputies were patrolling an area of the beach near Flagler Avenue when they heard a crowd yelling and some people began shouting, “He has a gun!”
Body-camera video shows deputies run toward 16-year-old Lakeland Felixander Solis-Guzman wielding a handgun.
“They observed our desperado pointing a gun at another individual,” Sheriff Mike Chitwood told News 6. “He then looks up and sees the deputies and takes a long run along the water’s edge.”
Then, on St. Patrick’s Day, three shootings happened in Jacksonville Beach, killing one person and injuring three others.
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