SAMMAMISH, Wash. — The Skyline High School community gathered Saturday night to pray and remember two classmates who died from accidental fentanyl overdoses in recent weeks.
Lucas Beirer died Monday and Thomas Beatty died in August. Both of them were just 16 years old.
Saturday’s vigil began with a prayer and an honest invitation to the approximately 150 students in attendance: if any of the students wanted to talk, or if they were struggling with drugs themselves, help was available.
Beirer’s parents released a statement after his death, saying they want to motivate others to have an open dialogue about opioids.
The two Skyline teens overdosed on fentanyl, believing what they were taking was Oxycodone, according to the King County Sheriff's Office.
Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opioid that is 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Skyline High School students held a moment of silence for Beirer and Beatty during Friday night’s football game.
School officials said they had a productive meeting with several students on Friday afternoon. They said they talked about what they were all going through and wrote letters to Beirer and Beatty's families.
Skyline also plans to host a presentation on drug and alcohol use in the community on October 16 from 7-8:30 p.m. in the high school auditorium. School officials plan to share steps they will take to prevent drug use among Skyline students.
A Ballard High School student also died this week of an accidental fentanyl overdose, according to a letter to parents from school officials on Friday.
The parents of the student specifically asked the school to notify other district families that their child had died of an accidental fentanyl overdose when he was taking what they thought was Oxycodone.
The school is providing counselors and mental health support for students, staff, and families as needed.
