NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — Another Rikers Island detainee has died of a suspected fentanyl overdose, becoming the 11th death in custody less than a week after Elijah Muhammad allegedly died the same way.
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The individual was in custody at the Anna M. Kross Center and died on Friday at 10:13 a.m., the Department of Correction confirmed.
Around 9:30 a.m., the FDNY responded to Rikers Island after getting reports of two unconscious detainees at the center, an FDNY spokesperson and Rikers sources told the New York Post.
The detainee was pronounced dead, while the other was reportedly transported to Bellevue Hospital.
Both are believed to have overdosed on fentanyl, according to the report.
The person's name is being withheld pending notification of the deceased individual's designated contact, the DOC said. Details surrounding what caused the death have not been released at this time.
DOC Commissioner Louis A. Molina said in a statement on Friday that the department is "extremely saddened by yet another death in custody."
"No one should have to experience the loss of a loved one while incarcerated and we are doing everything in our power to keep people safe and prevent further losses," he said.
All deaths in custody are first investigated by the State Attorney General’s Office and the DOC, the department said.
The latest death comes after 31-year-old Muhammad was pronounced dead of suspected fentanyl overdose at the George R. Vierno around 10:30 p.m. on Sunday night.
In a statement regarding Muhammad's death, Molina announced that a corrections officer had been fired as a result.
On Friday, Molina said "any death in custody is intolerable" and the DOC is "investigating both of the deaths that occurred this week aggressively."
While the department called Friday morning's death the tenth in their custody this year, the Daily News reported a man died on June 15, eight days after he hanged himself at the Bronx Criminal Court holding area.
His death was reportedly not counted as in custody because he was granted "compassionate release" on his deathbed.
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