Police are investigating the source of suspected opioid overdoses as officials distribute additional Narcan to bars in Austin’s downtown entertainment district.
AUSTIN, TX — Five adults survived suspected drug overdoses near a bar on East Sixth Street after bystanders and first responders administered the opioid-reversal medication Narcan, prompting police to investigate whether a dangerous batch of drugs was circulating in downtown Austin.
Austin police, firefighters and Austin-Travis County EMS responded to the 300 block of East Sixth Street around 2:20 a.m. Sept. 16 after receiving multiple 911 calls about people showing signs of an overdose in and around Shakespeare’s Pub. Officials said the incidents appeared to involve an opioid-like substance, but toxicology results had not confirmed what the people took or whether fentanyl was involved. Police described the suspected source as a possible “bad batch” while investigators worked to determine where the drugs originated.
Emergency crews found five adults with apparent overdose symptoms. One person was in respiratory arrest, meaning the person was not breathing adequately. All five received Narcan, the brand name for naloxone, from bystanders or first responders, and officials said some patients required multiple doses. Four people, including the person who had been in respiratory arrest, were taken to area hospitals in stable condition. The fifth person declined transportation. No deaths were reported from the incident.
People already in the entertainment district played an important role before medics arrived. Police said bar employees and other bystanders administered Narcan and performed CPR on people experiencing overdose symptoms. Witnesses described moving quickly to help an unresponsive person while emergency crews were being called. Police credited the early response from people nearby, along with officers already assigned to the downtown district, with helping prevent the episode from becoming fatal.
Austin police Cpl. Matthew Nonweiler said investigators suspected a dangerous supply of drugs may have been responsible for several people becoming ill within a short period. Authorities emphasized, however, that the exact substance had not been identified. Although the patients showed symptoms consistent with opioid exposure, officials said toxicology testing would be needed before investigators could determine whether fentanyl or another opioid was present.
The investigation was turned over to police units tasked with tracing the source of illegal drugs. Authorities said investigators were following leads to determine where the suspected drugs came from and who may have supplied them. Police also planned to work with businesses in the entertainment district as the investigation continued. No arrests connected to the Sept. 16 overdoses had been announced in the reports reviewed for this story.
The response expanded beyond the investigation in the days after the overdoses. Austin police and Austin-Travis County EMS went from bar to bar along Sixth Street distributing Narcan rescue kits. EMS officials said police brought about 200 kits for roughly 50 downtown bars, with each kit containing two doses of intranasal Narcan. Officials also provided information to employees about recognizing a suspected opioid overdose and using the medication.
EMS officials said the five-person incident was part of a broader concern about recent overdose calls. Commander Randy Chhabra told FOX 7 Austin that the agency had seen an increase in overdoses during the preceding week and that some patients required larger amounts of Narcan to reverse their symptoms. Officials said that pattern raised questions about the strength or composition of substances being used, though they had not confirmed what caused the Sept. 16 overdoses.
The episode follows previous overdose emergencies in Austin’s downtown entertainment district. In September 2025, police responded to another suspected overdose incident at a Sixth Street bar in which five people were treated and one later died, according to KUT. Austin also experienced a much larger overdose surge in spring 2024 that brought scores of emergency calls across the city and prompted authorities and community groups to distribute naloxone. Police said the Sept. 16 episode was the first multi-patient overdose event of a similar scale downtown since that 2024 surge.
Naloxone can temporarily reverse the effects of an opioid overdose by restoring breathing, according to Austin Public Health. Emergency officials have increasingly placed the medication in downtown businesses so it can be used before an ambulance arrives. The availability of Narcan inside businesses proved significant during the latest incident because some doses were administered before other first responders reached the patients.
As of Sept. 21, authorities had not publicly confirmed the substance involved in the five suspected overdoses. Austin police continued investigating the source of the drugs, while police and EMS increased the supply of Narcan available at downtown bars following the incident.
Author note: Last updated September 21, 2026.