Police in Texas are investigating a series of opioid overdoses in Austin which has claimed the lives of at least four people, local officials say, warning drug users not to take unknown substances. Dozens were saved by paramedics.

The incident began at around 9 a.m. on Monday when Austin experienced a “sudden surge” in opiod-related overdose calls, with most of them coming from the downtown area. Calls later spread to all parts of the city, including at homes, businesses and areas accessible to the general public.

“Upon our arrival, our team swiftly distributed Narcan rescue kits throughout the area to counteract the effects of the opioid overdoses and provide life-saving intervention to those affected,” Chief A. Carr, of Austin-Travis County EMS, said at a briefing on Monday night.

Heidi Abraham, the agency’s Deputy Medical Director, said the number of overdose calls had reached the “mid-to-high 30s” on Monday night, including four people who were pronounced dead. Others were saved with Narcan rescue kits.

“It’s thanks to a lot of first responders – like the Austin Police Department – that some of these people are alive today,” Abraham said. “Austin Police Department was first on scene for some of these incidents and administered Narcan. It definitely helped save these folks’ lives.”

Authorities are still investigating the cause of the surge in overdoses, which were continuing on Monday night.

“The initial couple of calls started about 9 o’clock this morning and it’s progressing as we speak,” a spokeswoman said at the briefing. “The calls are still happening, we’re still finding patients. And like I said, the situation continues to evolve.”

“When we see outbreaks like this, the suspicion is that essentially there’s a ‘new batch in town.’ I can’t speak to any investigative pieces but it’s fairly likely that it’s all from the same source or same couple of sources because of the similar signatures that we’re seeing in the symptoms,” she said.

Earlier today, a number of protestors, many believed to be non-UT affiliated individuals, erected a tent encampment on the South Lawn, with a barricade enclosure of tables secured by metal chains, and strategically placed tools, tents, and rocks. When approached, protestors escalated by becoming physically and verbally combative with Dean of Students’ staff. In response, the University of Texas took swift action to preserve a safe, conducive learning environment for our 53,000 students as they prepare for final exams.

UT Austin requested backup assistance from the Texas Department of Public Safety to protect the safety of the campus community and enforce our Institutional Rules, such as the rule that prohibits encampments on campus. Because of the encampments and other violations of the University’s Institutional Rules related to protests, protestors were told repeatedly to disperse. When they refused to disperse, some arrests were made for trespassing. Others were arrested for disorderly conduct.

Protests are allowed at the University of Texas. Since October and prior to April 24, no fewer than 13 pro-Palestinian free speech events were held on the UT campus, and four more demonstrations have been held since Thursday, largely without incident. The University strongly supports the free speech and assembly rights of our community, and we want students and others on campus to know that protests on campus are fully permissible, provided that they do not violate Institutional Rules or threaten the safety of our campus community.

Amidst heightened tensions, University of Texas at Austin Police took action on Monday (April 29), issuing a dispersal order as pro-Palestine demonstrators congregated on the South Mall, establishing an encampment. Subsequently, reports emerged of Texas DPS Troopers entering the vicinity in riot gear and dismantling the encampment.

At roughly 1:30 pm CT, Texas DPS Troopers and additional law enforcement personnel descended upon the campus, erecting police barriers. Prior to this, UTPD had already dispatched a dispersal order shortly after 1 pm CT. The directive came in response to protesters assembling with pro-Palestine signs and encircling tents they had erected.

According to several users on X, the police has started making arrests and several people have reportedly being detained. Videos of police aking arrests were also shared widely on social media.

The protests at UT Austin started with a student-led walkout on April 24 (Wednesday). They demanded the university sever ties with manufacturers providing weaponry to Israel. What started as a peaceful demonstration spiraled into chaos as police, donning riot gear and mounted on horses, intervened to scatter the protesters. It culminated in the arrest of 57 individuals.

“In Greg Abbott’s police state troopers march through pro-Palestine students at the University of Texas. I’ve never seen such a surge in police force against protesters ever in my lifetime. The foreign lobby seems to be dictating domestic policy now,” one user wrote on X.

“I fully support @GovAbbott and his decisions to keep the colleges and universities safe in Texas. He is doing the right thing protecting the students regardless of race, religion, gender, etc,” another said.

“Time to withdraw all money and funds to the terrorist supporting Universities these #WokeKids don’t even know what they’re protesting @UCLA @UOCuniversity1 @UniversityOfTexas @Harvard @Columbia,” wrote one user.