Grieving Aunt Shares Warning After Nephew, 19, Dies from Accidental Overdose Involving Fentanyl

The aunt of an Arizona teen who died after an accidental overdose from pills laced with fentanyl is speaking out about the dangers of drug experimentation.

Brandi Bundrick Nishnick lost her nephew Gunner Bundrick, 19, on Nov. 3 after he and a friend, Jake Morales, 19, both took Percocet, a pain killer known for its risk of addiction and dependency. The pills were believed to be laced with more than 50 percent fentanyl—a synthetic opioid often added to other drugs to increase potency.

Nishnick has now shared Gunner’s story on Facebook in the hopes that it could save lives.

“Gunner went out with friends on Friday night. They came back to my brothers house late and stayed up eating pizza and playing video games — like most 19 year old boys do. At some point during the evening, Gunner, and his friend, took a pill stamped Percocet. The very popular and easily accessible pain killer,” Nishnick wrote on Facebook.

The teens are believed to have died almost immediately, and were found unresponsive by Gunner’s mom.

“Both went to sleep and never woke up…My sister in law, his mother, found both boys the next morning. She, and my nieces, tried to resuscitate to no avail. Both boys had been dead for hours and there was nothing they, or the paramedics could do.”

The medical examiner ruled that the teens “died due to a combination of illicit drugs, fentanyl and 4-ANPP intoxication.”

According to Nishnick, Gunner had no history of drug use nor was ever a “problem child.” He was a “star athlete” and “extremely loved in his community.”

“We don’t know why he decided to take ‘a pill’ that night. The only thing we can assume is that the curiosity of knowing what the ‘high’ is like came into play? Again, we can only assume,” she continued in her post. “Gunner had a whole life ahead of him. He had goals and aspirations. He wanted to be a dad…One bad choice, one stupid minor mistake was all it took,” she wrote.

Nishnick went on to warn about the dangers of drug experimentation.

“THERE CAN BE NO EXPERIMENTING,” she wrote. “None. It’s truly a matter of life or death. You can’t see fentanyl. You can’t smell fentanyl. Tell your kids Gunner’s story. Show them his picture. I can’t describe the amount of pain my brother, sister-in-law and Gunner’s sisters are going through- a pain that will NEVER end. A hole that will NEVER be filled. A life that will never be brought back. A beautiful life. Gone forever.”