Deadly Fentanyl Doesn't Choose: Robert De Niro's 19-Year-Old Grandson Is Latest Victim

Robert De Niro’s grandson Leandro De Niro Rodriguez, who was also an actor, tragically died at the age of 19 on Monday. The cause of death was confirmed to be an overdose involving the deadly synthetic opioid – fentanyl, Lenardo’s mother Drena De Niro revealed.

What happened: Drena De Niro posted a message on Instagram in which she said goodbye to her beloved son Leo. She asked the public for privacy "to process this inconsolable grief," wrote CNN.

When a follower asked her how Leandro died, she replied. "Someone sold him fentanyl-laced pills that they knew were laced yet still sold them to him, so for all these people still f**king around selling and buying this sh*t, my son is gone forever,” Drena De Niro wrote.

Dangers Of Fentanyl

According to the latest report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), nearly 70,000 people in the US died in 2021 alone from a drug overdose involving fentanyl. That’s nearly four times higher than the number of people who died five years ago.

Fentanyl was the most common drug involved in fatal overdoses across age groups, race and ethnicity groups and gender in 2021.

Around two-thirds of all opioid-related overdose deaths in 2021 involved fentanyl often found in combination with other drugs.

This April, for the first time in US history the Biden administration declared a substance to be an emerging threat to the country. Dr. Rahul Gupta, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) officially designated fentanyl combined with xylazine as an emerging threat to the United States.

Oscar-winning legend Robert De Niro shared his grief over the loss of his grandson Leandro. “I’m deeply distressed by the passing of my beloved grandson Leo,” Robert De Niro said in a statement to CNN. “We’re greatly appreciative of the condolences from everyone. We ask that we please be given privacy to grieve our loss of Leo.”

Photo: Drena and Leandro De Niro Rodriguez from Instagram