Ninth Suspected Fatal Overdose Recorded in New Bedford this Month

NEW BEDFORD — Another suspected fatal overdose in New Bedford was recorded this week.

The Bristol County District Attorney's Office says the body of a 38-year-old New Bedford man was found by a friend shortly after noon on Wednesday in the man's Rodney Street apartment bedroom. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene.

A toxicology report to determine the exact cause of death is pending. However, a spokesman for the Bristol County District Attorney's Office says the man had a history of addiction and was seen in the apartment with a "brown powdery substance" on Tuesday.

The death marks the ninth suspected fatal drug overdose in New Bedford this month.

As of January 16, the New Bedford Opioid Task Force stated there had been five fatal drug overdoses since the beginning of the month in the city. Since then, there have been at least four suspected fatal overdoses recorded by the New Bedford Police Department and the Bristol County District Attorney's Office:

• January 18
  • 50-year-old New Bedford man in an Ellen Street apartment
• January 22
  • 50-year-old and 28-year-old New Bedford men found in same Union Street apartment
• January 23
  • 38-year-old New Bedford man found in Rodney Street apartment

There were only three suspected fatal overdoses in January 2018.