MALDEN, MASS. (WHDH) - Hazardous material crews responded to a building in Malden Wednesday afternoon after an unknown powder was found in the building.
The Malden Fire Department had called in hazmat crews to assist at an apartment complex on Cory Lane after an unknown powder was found in the building around 11:30 Wednesday morning. 7NEWS sources said the powder was drugs, specifically fentanyl.
Later in the day a medical examiners van arrived at the scene and a body was taken from the building.
A statement from Malden Police at 9:04 p.m said analysis by hazmat and fire department services confirmed the substance was fentanyl.
“During a preliminary investigation by responding officers, an unkown white substance was discovered on scene,” the statement said. “Out of an abundance of caution, it was decided to use hazmat services to analyze the unknown substance before moving forward with cleaning up the scene of the medical emergency.”
A spokesperson for the Middlesex County Attorney’s office said they did not consider this a suspicious incident, though an investigation is underway.
“I woke up at probably 10:30 this morning, and I heard someone yelling ‘Get out of here! Get out of here!’,” John Sullivan, who lives in the apartment complex, said. “When I came out of my unit, the police were there and there was a guy sitting on the floor, and they said ‘you have to go out into the courtyard, and go out that way,’ and that’s all I know.”
Andrea Munoz also lives in complex. She was surprised about the incident, especially around the holidays.
“It’s sad because what could possibly be happening the day before Thanksgiving, especially in this area where it’s like quiet, all you ever see at most is people walking their dogs and little events, but nothing of this stature,” she said.
Residents were upset because they said they had neither been evacuated at any point, nor given any information about the investigation.
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