Use of Zombie drug suspected in attacks in the U.S.

The zombie drug with the street name Flakka led to a fresh attack in Florida in the United States, with a teenager high on it trespassing into a house and getting aggressive with a mother-son duo. The incident, which happened on Aug. 28 comes close on the heels of another in which a man had killed a couple and consumed the flesh of one of their bodies. 

In the latest instance, the 19-year-old named Nico Gallo is said to have broken into a house in Florida's Martin County and first attacked a 55-year-old woman. Her son, who was in the house at the time, was alerted by his mother's shouts and rushed to the spot. 

A brawl between him and Gallo ensued, during which the mother also hit the teen with a baseball bat, subduing him. Gallo was arrested, and rushed to a hospital due to the injuries he had sustained in the brawl. He later told the police he was high on Flakka, a street drug that can be consumed by swallowing, injecting, snorting as well as smoking.

However, the medical personnel who examined him were quoted by CBS12.com as saying that they had found no trace of Flakka in Gallo's system, leading to suspicion that he could have consumed some other narcotic. It may be noted that the short term effects of Flakka include increased alertness, euphoric sensations, palpitations, rise in blood pressure and aggression.

Interestingly, Gallo was found smiling when the cops took his mugshot for the records.

In the previous instance, a Florida State University student named Austin Harrouf had stabbed a couple and eaten the flesh off the man's face and stomach. The police had said back then that Harrouf was under the influence of drugs when he committed these crimes.

The officers said they found similarities in the nature of both attacks. In both cases, the accused had high pain tolerance and were tremendously strong. They did not know their victims and it seemed they had consumed the same synthetic or designer drug.