Police officials said Monday that a kilo of fentanyl was found hidden near mats on which babies had been napping at the Kingsbridge Heights daycare center on Friday, Sept. 18, where they fell unconscious. As reported, one-year-old Nicholas Dominici died later on Friday, after he was rushed to hospital by emergency services. Also hospitalized, with Nicholas, were a 2-year-old baby boy and an 8-month-old baby girl. Each had been exposed to fentanyl.

 

As reported, emergency services responded to a 911 call regarding multiple aided children inside Divino Niño Daycare Center, located at 2707 Morris Avenue on Friday afternoon. A fourth 2-year-old baby boy, who had also attended the daycare center that day, had been brought by private means to Bronx Lebanon hospital the same day.

 

Police said all four babies were found to have had traces of opioids in their system, and the NYPD immediately launched a criminal investigation into the incident. As reported, Carlisto Acevedo Brito, 41, of 2705 Morris Avenue in The Bronx and Grei Mendez, 36, caretaker of the daycare center, also of 2705 Morris Avenue, The Bronx, were arrested on Saturday, Sept. 16, at around 8 p.m. and have been indicted on murder, attempted murder, and other charges.

 

New York City Mayor Eric Adams, Police Commissioner Edward Caban, Health Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan, NYPD Chief Det. Joe Kenny, and other police officials held a second press conference at One Police Plaza on Monday evening to share further updates on the tragedy that has shocked Bronxites and has made headlines across the country.

 

Adams said during Monday’s press conference, “We just felt that it was urgent and needed that this story could not be just another day in our City.” He continued, “Four babies.. four babies, and whoever is a parent, you had to see that picture of that young baby who lost his life to just reckless and careless… and total disregard for those children.”

 

He commended the EMS responders who he said identified the symptoms that the babies were experiencing [and quickly took appropriate action] and the police for what he said was their thorough investigation into the incident, as previously reported.

 

He said he also wanted to thank the City’s healthcare professionals, adding that his administration would be highlighting to families the deadly consequences of opioids such as fentanyl. “This is not just ‘I mistakenly leave marijuana around the house or I mistakenly leave cocaine around the house,” he said. “This stuff [fentanyl] is so dangerous!”

 

Holding up a photo of a plastic pouch with a very small amount of fentanyl inside next to an image of a coin in order to show its comparative size, he said, “Just a small amount, that little corner right there, the size of a penny, that little corner you see here is enough to kill an adult… that little corner!”

 

He continued, “So, if you’re bringing fentanyl in your home, landing it on the countertop, landing it on the place your child sleeps, landing it near a crib, landing it on your clothing, that little corner, that little piece, less than the size of a fingernail, a tenth of a size of a fingernail, can kill an adult, so imagine what it can do to a child. You are irresponsible as an adult if you have this inside your home. This is not the drugs of yesteryear. This is so dangerous.”

 

He then pointed out the insanity of having to introduce Narcan to children (in order to save them). As reported, Narcan is a potentially lifesaving medication designed to help reverse the effects of an opioid overdose in minutes. Since most opioid overdoses occur in the home, according to the manufacturers, and are most often witnessed, having a Narcan rescue kit nearby can make all the difference. “We probably saved the lives of three of those children because of Narcan,” the mayor said of the childcare medical emergency on Sept. 15.

 

Adams asked, “What are we doing? What are we doing as a society to our children? This was probably one of the worst days I’ve had of going up to The Bronx, sitting down with those parents, losing their babies like this. They dropped their babies off to a daycare center hoping that their children would be protected by the caregivers, and then speaking with the father yesterday, like, ‘What do you say? What do you say?'”

For his part, Caban said the NYPD was one step closer to getting justice for Nicholas through its ongoing work with the Bronx District Attorney’s Office, the Drug Enforcement Authority NY division and federal prosecutors. Referring to the two arrests of Acevedo Brito and Mendez, the police commissioner vowed, “People will be held accountable.” He said the events at the daycare center were “truly unimaginable” and a “nightmare that these families will never wake up from.”

 

“Believe me, the NYPD will never rest in our pursuit of anyone who puts our children in harm’s way,” Caban said. “The [days?] of fentanyl cannot be overstated. This poison is extremely deadly and if you traffic in it, you will be held to the fullest extent of the law. No parent should ever have to go through this, and we will continue to work 24/7 to make sure there are meaningful consequences for all these horrific crimes.”

 

He also provided an update on an arrest made following the fatal shooting of 71-year-old Enriqueta Rivera in Mott Haven on Thursday, Sept. 14.

Kenny then reiterated the details of the daycare incident, providing a bit more color on what had previously been reported by police. He said when police, FDNY, and EMS responded to the licensed daycare center last Friday for reports of three “unresponsive” and “unconscious children,” they seemed be demonstrating an exposure to an opioid, and reiterated that “quick-thinking” emergency personnel administered Narcan to the babies and transported them to Montefiore Hospital. He reconfirmed that one-year-old Nicholas later died at the hospital.

 

Kenny also reiterated that detectives later learned of the additional 2-year-old baby boy who had been earlier removed from the center at 12.15 on Friday by his mother and brought to Bronx Lebanon Hospital where, because he had also been exhibiting symptoms of opioid exposure, was administered Narcan and his life was saved.

 

Kenny said a search warrant was executed at the daycare location by the NYPD and Drug Enforcement Administration. “There, we discovered a kilo of fentanyl in an area that was used to give the children naps,” he said. “It was laid underneath a mat where the children had been sleeping earlier. Additionally, we found three kilo presses. This device is commonly used by drug dealers when packaging large quantities of illegal narcotics.”

Referring to the arrests of Acevedo Brito and Mendez, Kenny confirmed that neither had any prior arrests. He reiterated that all three children brought to Montefiore Medical Center had traces of fentanyl in their system. “Year-to-date, the NYPD Forensic Laboratories has tested over 150 pounds of fentanyl,” he said.

 

Kenny clarified that this was not the amount seized, and only the amount tested. “This drug is so dangerous that we only test the small, small, miniscule amount to limit the exposure of our lab personnel; that’s how dangerous it is,” he said. “Even wearing the proper PPE, we still try to limit as much as possible our exposure to this drug.”

 

Vasan later said he shared the mayor’s sentiments, saying that Friday was his worst experience to date as health commissioner and in any former role, watching the parents of the infant victims go through what they went through, and adding again that he, himself, had three small children. “I’ve seen people die,” he said. “I’ve accompanied people through their end of life in hospital settings, and this is where fentanyl belongs.”

He said he remembered the first person who he administered fentanyl to, a woman in her 40s who had breast cancer, who, he said, was leaving behind a family and who needed the fentanyl to manage the pain of the cancer as she neared the end of her life. “I remember ordering it for the first time and realizing how powerful this substance is, but how much relief it gave to someone suffering from pain unimaginable to most of us,” he said.

 

Vasan said fentanyl doesn’t belong on the streets, in homes, or anywhere where trained clinicians are not present. “And it doesn’t belong in forms like powders and aerosolized liquids,” he said. “It belongs in syringes, and it belongs in hospitals where they are extremely controlled substances. Fentanyl is exquisitely dangerous. I use the word ‘exquisitely’ as I don’t have another word to describe how dangerous this drug is.”

 

He went on to say that fentanyl was completely stressing the City’s entire response to the overdose crisis. He said people were dying who were dependent on fentanyl, who were casually using opioids, and who were using non-opioids, contaminated with fentanyl. Saying the City would soon be releasing its overdose data for 2022, he added, “We will once again hit a record peak.” He added that the numbers are rising every year and that fentanyl has contributed to the acceleration of the crisis.

“As I said when I started as commissioner, if it wasn’t for COVID and it was followed by Mpox and other infectious crisis, this would be the number one issue,” he said, adding that 80 percent of overdoses in the City involved fentanyl in 2021 and said that number was sure to rise. “A New Yorker dies of an overdose every three hours, and now it’s going to be less [time] than that,” he said, adding that he could not emphasize enough how dangerous fentanyl is in its “synthetic” and “unexpected form.”

 

Vasan added in part, “Narcan saved three babies’ lives. We have defibrillators [used in cardiac/heart-related emergencies] behind every bar, in every business, at every public event. Increasingly, we have EpiPens [a medication that can help decrease a body’s allergic reaction] in public settings. Narcan has to be everywhere. You should be carrying Narcan right now. I have Narcan right here. These are the Narcan kits distributed by the City. Narcan is now available over the counter. You can go to your pharmacy and get Narcan. Go to our website. Call 311. Do free trainings.”

 

The health commissioner went on to say that the City-issued kits included two doses and also included instructions on how to safely administer it [through the nose] ” in the field.” He concluded, “Anytime you see someone, walking past them, who looks like they might not be conscious, who might not be breathing, looking sleepy, who might look more sleepy or tired than usual, think overdose, think opioid intoxication, and think fentanyl.”

 

A reporter later asked in respect of the referenced inspections which had been carried out by the City health officials prior to the opening of the impacted daycare center, what health officials were looking to inspect and why nothing was found inside the location, given the drugs and equipment found there later. “My department inspects hundreds, if not thousands, of these sites every year for their safety on behalf of the State,” Vasan said. “These are home-based childcare centers, run out of people’s homes and they seek licensure for those sites.”

 

Referring to the three inspections of the center in 2023, including one surprise visit on Sept. 6, as reported, he said their purpose was to verify identity, to assess safety, to look for essential equipment needed to provide basic childcare, to look for things like proper means of entry and exit, and proper ventilation.

 

“I’m very sorry but one of the things my childcare inspectors are not trained to do is look for fentanyl, but maybe we need to start,” he said. “Maybe we need to start but that has not been a part of our thinking for decades or years in doing this work, and it’s served us well because we keep our babies safe through thousands of these centers. I think there are over 6,000+ centers like this, home-based centers, in the City of New York that we inspect on behalf of the State.”

 

Adams added, “Let’s be clear on something. The inspectors did not go in and see a drug lab and ignored it. You saw the small amount so we do not want to give the perception that.. They went in and did their job and did the necessary inspections.” He also again highlighted the surprise September visit.

Asked for a timeline of events which led up to the children being found unresponsive, and whether the caregiver had also been exposed to the opioids, Kenny said the caregiver was not exposed and reiterated that she was one of the two people charged in the case.

 

Explaining that the center was authorized to care for 8 children at any given time and had had four dropped off on the day of the incident, Kenny said one baby was picked up at 12.15 by her mother and the other three ate at 1 p.m. and then were put down for a nap in a back room. “When I say backroom, it’s an area where they had mats lying on the floor if you can imagine, gym mats,” Kenny said, in part. “Less than an hour and half later, they started to exhibit symptoms of the fentanyl.”

 

He said the NYPD recovered one kilo of fentanyl in the vicinity of the mats and the kilo presses were recovered inside a closet that was out of plain view. In response to another question, he confirmed that the other three impacted babies are now doing fine. One had previously been reported as being in a critical condition while two had been reported as stable.

 

Kenny was also asked if there was any history of drugs at the daycare center, how the kilo made it into the center, and whether there were any more drugs inside. He said they had some information that might suggest items may have been removed from the location after the 911 call was placed. As to the center, he said police had received no prior complaints about potential drugs at the center, or 911 or 311 calls from neighbors or residents.

 

In response to another question, Kenny confirmed Arcevedo Brito was renting a room that was locked that was located inside the daycare center itself. Asked if that had been noticed during the inspection, he reiterated that the center was both an apartment where people lived as well as operating as a daycare center.

 

It has been reported by some publications that one other person, possibly Mendez’s husband/partner, is still being sought in connection to the drug operation. Kenny was asked if the operation was bigger than three people, if the daycare center opening had been planned to cover for the drug operation or if it had started afterwards. He said Acevedo Brito came into the country about a year ago from the Dominican Republic around the same time the site opened. “We’re still looking into it,” he said, adding that they had another person of interest they wanted to speak to together with federal partners.

He was also asked if it was known at what time the kilo presses were brought into the building and whether it was before or after the opening of the center. He said they were still looking into that.

 

Asked more about the screening of those operating such daycare centers, Vasan said, “The background checks are done on the applicants and the residents of the location where the home-based childcare center is being applied for. On the license and the application, the people who ran the site were appropriately background checked and cleared, and were also listed as the residents of that location, so anyone else living there was not listed as a resident as a part of the normal background check procedures.”

 

The mayor was later asked how he would reassure concerned parents “after seeing this fall through the cracks,” and “inspections being properly done in the future.” He responded in part, saying the situation did not fall through the cracks. “The team did their job. The individuals involved had no criminal records. They went in, did several inspections, including a surprise inspection. They looked to see if the place was clean. The place was clean. They did all of the proper inspections that they’re supposed to do.”

He continued, “They did their job. Who did not do their job are the people who were there to protect the children. They did not do their job. They did just the opposite, and that is the most frightening aspect of this because everything appeared normal, based on the standards we put in place to make sure our children are in a safe environment. Part of this relationship is based on trust that those who are taking care of children are going to do it in a safe manner. They broke that trust, as others have.”

 

He reiterated again his message to parents. “If you have someone in your home who is dealing in fentanyl, if you are aware of someone in your home who’s carrying fentanyl in your home, if you are associated with someone who is dealing with fentanyl, you are endangering everyone in your household.”

 

He concluded, “This is just total madness that we lost a child to this dangerous substance, and we almost lost three… we almost lost four children to this dangerous substance. There needs to be a full, national assault on this drug entering our City. This is a new drug. This is [not]…  a new type of battle, and people need to understand this… this is not the marijuana on your tabletop…..that a small amount like this can kill an adult.

 

“It’s not acceptable. This is about everyone up here. We’re all parents and you cannot be a parent and not angry at what happened to these babies. I am! I am!”

 

A person arrested and charged with a crime is deemed innocent unless and until convicted in a court of law.

 

Read our other stories on the unfolding of this tragedy here, here, here, here, here, and here.

 

Read our previous stories on Narcan kit training here and here.

 

NYC Department of Health & Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) provides training and regularly updated information on how to obtain and administer naloxone (Narcan). Click here for more information.

 

A link to a legitimate GoFundMe page, set up by Nicholas’ parents to help with their financial expenses in the wake of the tragedy, can be found in our previous story here.