- See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred Source
The mayor of the Mississippi college town rocked by the mysterious deaths of two Ole Miss students has issued a chilling warning over kratom, declaring that taking the controversial substance is like 'rolling the dice on death.'
asserted
taking → see → death
Oxford Mayor Robyn Tannehill sounded the alarm after packaged kratom was recovered during investigations into the deaths of University of Mississippi students Aidan Hamilton, 18, and Robert Strang, 20.
asserted
kratom → sound → students
The young men were found dead in separate locations earlier this week, plunging the close-knit college community into grief and triggering an urgent investigation involving narcotics detectives.
asserted
men → find → detectives
Authorities have not determined what killed either student, and Tannehill stressed that autopsy and toxicology results must come back before investigators can establish whether kratom or any other substance played a role.
asserted
kratom → determine → role
But she warned that the deaths should serve as a wake-up call about the potentially dangerous substances sometimes sold in smoke shops, convenience stores and gas stations.
asserted
deaths → warn → shops
'To take kratom is really rolling the dice on death,' Tannehill told Fox News on Saturday.
asserted
Tannehill → take → Saturday
'That sounds dramatic, but it's the truth.
asserted
it → sound → ?
And so our challenge right now is to make our young people understand the dangers of these drugs.'
asserted
people → make → drugs
Tannehill said Oxford officials had been concerned about kratom for years and moved to restrict its sale locally after the city's police chief raised the alarm.
asserted
chief → say → alarm
'Our city board passed a law seven years ago prohibiting kratom from being sold in gas stations across our community,' she said.
asserted
she → pass → community
'This is a substance that our police chief identified as dangerous in 2019, and we immediately took action.'
asserted
we → identify → action
Oxford, Mississippi Mayor Robyn Tannehill warned that taking kratom is like 'rolling the dice on death' as the community reels from the deaths of two Ole Miss students.
asserted
community → warn → students
Robert Strang, a 20-year-old from Atlanta, is the older of the two victims
Aidan Hamilton, an 18-year-old freshman from Colorado, was the second student to die under suspicious circumstances
The mayor said authorities were continuing to hunt for people willing to illegally supply potentially dangerous substances to young people.
asserted
authorities → die → people
'We are always trying to find the bad actors in our community that are choosing to sell these things to kids,' she said.
asserted
she → try → kids
Her warning came after police raided a smoke shop just a mile from the Ole Miss campus and arrested two employees on drug charges.
asserted
police → come → charges
Yahya Mohamed Mosleh, 51, and Islam Mohamed, 18, were booked for possession of Schedule I drugs with intent to distribute.
asserted
Mosleh → book → intent
Oxford Police said agents recovered more than 500 units of kratom along with THC cartridges, gummies and other suspected drugs during the raid.
asserted
agents → say → raid
Police also said business owner Amer Alowdi, 40, had previously been indicted for trafficking drugs and had since left the country.
asserted
Alowdi → say → country
Authorities have not linked the arrests or the store to the deaths of Hamilton and Strang, and the investigation remains active.
asserted
investigation → link → Hamilton
The Lafayette County Metro Narcotics Unit has said that 'packaged kratom' was recovered during both death investigations.
asserted
kratom → say → investigations
Yahya Mohamed Mosleh, 51, and Islam Mohamed, 18, were arrested and booked for possession of Schedule 1 drugs with intent to distribute
Officials said that kratom, pictured here, was found during both investigations into the deaths
asserted
kratom → arrest → deaths
It is sometimes marketed for energy, pain relief or managing opioid withdrawal.
asserted
It → market → withdrawal
'We are awaiting autopsy and toxicology reports, and until those tests are in, it is just, you know, speculation at this point,' Tannehill said.
asserted
Tannehill → await → point
Hamilton, a freshman from Colorado, was found inside Stewart Hall on campus.
asserted
Hamilton → find → campus
Emergency responders attempted CPR but were unable to save him.
asserted
responders → attempt → him
Strang, a junior from Georgia, was discovered at an off-campus house on Van Buren Avenue.
asserted
Strang → discover → Avenue
Tannehill said the entire Oxford community was now mourning with them.
asserted
community → say → them
'This tragic loss of these two young men has deeply impacted our community, and my heart is broken for these parents, family and friends and classmates of Robert and Aidan,' she said.
'
asserted
she → impact → Robert
As a mom and a mayor, I take seriously our responsibility to provide a safe place for the students who we're entrusted with for four to five to six years.
asserted
we → take → years
'
Tannehill looked to reassure frightened students and parents that the two deaths did not mean Oxford had suddenly become unsafe.
asserted
Oxford → look → students
Ole Miss asked for the community 'not to speculate' on the circumstances regarding the student's deaths
The Lyceum, oldest building on the campus of the University of Mississippi on April 12, 2008, in Oxford
'Oxford is an extremely safe town,' she said.
asserted
she → ask → Oxford
'It's a place where, as you walk down the street, people still speak to you.
asserted
people → walk → you
It's a place that takes care of each other.'
asserted
that → take → other
She added that substance abuse and dangerous drugs are problems confronting college communities nationwide.
asserted
abuse → add → communities
'The issues we're dealing with right now are issues that every college campus across the nation is dealing with.
asserted
campus → deal → nation
It's not unique to Oxford,' she said.
asserted
she → say → Oxford
'Unfortunately, the spotlight is on Oxford now because of these two tragic deaths, and if that spotlight can help us save other kids then, you know, that is my prayer.
asserted
that → help → kids
Tannehill urged students to look after one another.
asserted
Tannehill → urge → one
'I just encourage students to take care of each other,' Tannehill said.
asserted
Tannehill → encourage → other
'Know that our community is rallying around you.'
And she delivered an equally blunt message to anyone illegally supplying drugs in the city.
asserted
she → know → city
…and 1 more, not listed.
The Aporia
