For the second time in the past week, paramedics responded to the downtown Los Angeles area on a report of multiple people suffering from some type of illness, possibly from an illicit substance or intoxicant.
Emergency crews were sent to the 400 block of East Fifth Street about 10:30 a.m., according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.
It was unclear how many people were affected. Motorists were urged to avoid the area, with emergency crews blocking some streets.
On Friday, nearly 50 people were sickened by what police believe was a bad batch of a synthetic drug, possibly Spice.
Firefighters and paramedics responded around 1 p.m. Friday in the 200 block of East Fifth Street to evaluate multiple people experiencing what police said were likely drug-induced symptoms, according to Sgt. Ed Kinney. Nearly 50 people were evaluated or treated, Kinney said.
Officers believed those experiencing symptoms of illness had consumed synthetic drugs from the same batch because of the large volume of calls within the same time frame, Kinney said.
“The information from people on the streets is it’s cheap … and they’re willing to risk their health,” he said.
He added the symptoms displayed by patients were similar to the ones associated with PCP, which include excessive sweating and accelerated heart rate.
In April, about 10 people, including a police bicycle officer, were sickened within a 24-hour span in the area of San Pedro and Fifth streets — not far from the latest two incidents — by an unknown substance or intoxicant.
At the time, officers assigned to the area spread the word that it appeared a drug being circulated was making people sick, but authorities didn’t figure out what caused the illnesses and no one was arrested.
