Street-involved, unhoused, and PWUD’s accounts of fentanyl-involved “hot shot” homicides

Abstract

Street-involved people who use drugs navigate daily threats to their safety. While many of these threats are well understood, one common concern – “hot shotting” – has received little empirical attention. Hot shotting refers to the weaponization and deliberate injection of lethal drug concoctions (usually high-dose opioids) with the intent to kill. Drawing upon interviews with 331 street-involved persons, most of whom were unhoused and used illicit substances, we examine accounts of hot shot victimization, illuminating the techniques, motivations, and consequences of these largely undetected homicides. Hot shots carry multiple consequences for marginalized people’s safety and well-being, constituting a new type and layer of fentanyl-driven threat on the streets. Furthermore, participants believed that police investigations into these killings were limited, exacerbating fear and frustration. We argue that hot shot victimization necessitates greater police, paramedic, coroner, policy, and legal attention.