2-year-old girl dies of suspected overdose near downtown Minneapolis

MINNEAPOLIS — Police are investigating after they say a toddler fatally overdosed Tuesday night at an emergency homeless shelter near downtown Minneapolis.

Around 5:30 p.m., dispatch received a report of an unconscious 2-year-old girl who was not breathing at Higher Ground in the 100 block of Greenwood Avenue, according to the Minneapolis Police Department.

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara said that when officers arrived, they found suspected drugs near the girl. The officers tried to save lives and even administered Narcan, a drug to reverse an opioid overdose, but it wasn't enough to save the girl. She was transported to Hennepin County Medical Center, where she later died.

O'Hara added that they suspected fentanyl was the cause of the overdose.

One of the girl's parents, a second adult unrelated to the girl and the girl's 7-year-old sibling were present at the time of the overdose, police said.

“It’s a terrible, really tragic situation here,” O’Hara said. “It's hard to see things like this, especially when the outcome isn't good. No matter what officers try to do – provide Narcan, perform CPR – it just doesn't work. It doesn't work. It's not easy for agents to live with.”

The child's official cause of death will be determined by a medical examiner.