Surge in childhood fentanyl poisoning is ‘just the beginning’ of the fentanyl crisis

KENNER, La. – A new study shows that children are dying from fentanyl poisoning faster than any other age group.

Many of these deaths are the children of drug addicts who accidentally infected their children.

This is exactly what happened on New Year’s Eve in Kenner, Louisiana, a suburb of New Orleans. One year old Leo Callero was found dead with fentanyl in his system. His family tells us that his mother, Alexis Callero, was a heroin user and the state was actively investigating his custody, but it was too late.

“It’s really just a numbness,” Leo’s paternal aunt Lexis Staub said. “It still seems unrealistic. We’re just trying to get justice for Leo. This should never happen.”

Leo Callero, 1, was found dead on New Year’s Eve with fentanyl in his system.
(Contributed by Lexis Staub)

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Capt. Michael Cunningham of the Kenner Police Department says nearly 100% of drugs seized from the street by his department have tested positive for fentanyl over the past year.

“It comes from overseas where they can make hundreds of thousands of small fentanyl pills, and we have street dealers who make their own pills,” Cunningham said.

Alexis Callero has been charged with Leo’s murder, and the Louisiana Department of Children and Families is investigating their mistakes.

The baby’s mother, Alexis Callero, is charged with second-degree murder for his death.
(Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office)

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Social agencies across the country are still struggling with staff shortages in the wake of the pandemic, and some children are out of work.

Meanwhile, Leo’s death is now part of an alarming surge in childhood fentanyl poisoning.

Between 2019 and 2021, fentanyl deaths among children ages 1 to 4 tripled, and among children ages 5 to 14 nearly quadrupled, according to the nonprofit Families Against Fentanyl (FAF).

“It has become so common that it kills babies and children simply by accidental contact,” said FAF founder Jim Rauch.

fentanyl tablets
(U.S. Attorney’s Office)

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Rauch founded Families Against Fentanyl after the drug killed his son in 2015. Since then, he has been on the front lines, working with political leaders and other advocates to resolve the fentanyl crisis.

“I want the White House to declare fentanyl a weapon of mass destruction by executive order,” Rauch said. “It will put the whole government approach to it.”

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Rauch says the drug problems America is currently facing are “just the beginning” unless more action is taken.

“We fear that this could be used for mass casualty events,” Rauch said. “These are infiltrated schools. These are penetrating prisons. This means that there is no secure environment. At the slightest solvent it becomes immediately transferable. God knows what can happen if it gets into food, water or air.”