The circumstances of his death had not been revealed. Leandro De Niro Rodriguez, grandson of Robert De Niro, and also an actor, has reportedly succumbed to a fentanyl overdose, his mother said in an Instagram post. "Someone sold him pills containing fentanyl, which they knew were cut but sold him anyway," Drena De Niro wrote Tuesday in response to a comment on the social network. "So let all those people who keep selling and buying this know that my son is gone forever," she added.
Read alsoHHC, fentanyl, 3-MMC... These new synthetic drugs, cheap and addictive, headache of the authorities
Also an actress, Drena De Niro announced Sunday the death of her son, at the age of 19. "My beautiful angel. I have loved you beyond words and descriptions since the moment I felt you in my belly, "she wrote on Instagram. "I'd like to be with you right now. I want to be with you. I don't know how to live without you, but I will try to continue and spread the love and light you made me feel by becoming your mom," she continued in a poignant message.
"I am deeply devastated by the passing of my beloved grandson Leo. We are grateful for all your condolences, but ask for some privacy to mourn," De Niro said in a statement.
Opioid crisis
The cause of death of Leandro De Niro Rodriguez had not been revealed, but investigators were already suspecting an overdose, according to police sources. A white powder and accessories useful for taking drugs had indeed been discovered in the apartment, near the body.
Video. 'Looks like zombies': In San Francisco, fentanyl addicts have taken over downtown
Fentanyl is a powerful opioid normally prescribed to relieve pain in people with cancer. Inexpensive, this synthetic substance is misused as a drug. It is at the heart of the opioid crisis in the United States, where a person dies of its effects every seven minutes, according to an article in Le Monde. Several celebrities have been victims in recent years, recalls 20 Minutes, including Prince or rapper Mac Miller.
