DS19 needle spiked (roofied) on first night at university *edited by MNHQ

[Fraida]

Just sharing as I am so upset - dropped DS at halls university yesterday as he starts his first year. He went out last night and I got a call from the police at 1am saying they found him unconscious in the street (lesson here is make sure you have your emergency contact installed in your phone as that is how they called me). Took him to A&E and urine test etc showed traces of Rohypnal in system and evidence of a needle puncture wound on shoulder.

DS called me and apparently (he was in a gay club) a man in late thirties and early forties was hitting on him and he pushed him away. The last thing he remembers is feeling like he had been punched on his arm.

Police have been great and investigating but said it’s highly unlikely that they will find the perpetrator 😡However they will review CCTV footage and speak to the club. I’m just so upset and angry for him and needed to share.

OP said “Roofied”, not “roofed”.

It’s a widely known term for specifically being spiked with Rohypnol.

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/roofie

How awful. I suppose on his very first night there he didn’t have a group of friends who all knew each other.

“Roofies” is a very common name for rohypnol. More specific than “spiked”. It’s not often victims have evidence it was rhoypnol but in this case op does so it’s completely the right term.

@sanityisamyth

Spell checker on phone ?
I've been looking into this recently but I've not heard the term ?

So no I don't think it's that common

• personally as per my post I don't think we as a society make enough fuss over spiking in fact a lady at work thinks her DD was spiked and she didn't tell a soul ,not police ,school no one

So ..it carries on.

It's interesting that op has used the correct term for a specific type of spiking

As someone who has taken an interested in this and I have written to my MP /local police etc about it I have not heard that term

I was merely thinking that perhaps using a term more people know it may attract more posters and thereby keep awareness of this hideous crime going ??

That's all.

I definitely wouldn’t accept the Police saying they’re unlikely to catch the perpetrator. There’s CCTV everywhere these days!

I'm sorry OP. As a mum of two who went through univ relatively unscathed, I can only offer sympathy and imagine how upset you are. They seem so grown up in 6th form then leave home for the first time and it's like they're so vulnerable again.
Our neighbours have a lovely daughter whose drink was spiked when she started univ and that caused a lot of upset but thankfully she was OK. I hope your son is OK.

This is just awful. I’m so sorry for your son. I have two young adult DDs and worry about this stuff. Bad enough at any time let alone his first night out. Utter scum and I hope cctv shows something.

Thank you everyone, I really appreciate the messages… has made an awful Sunday a little better. Sad to see how many people have had similar experiences.

Have contacted the manager of the club to alert them so their staff and customers can be aware, I know LGBTQ+ people feel very vulnerable anyway so hopefully this will at least increase the vigilance in case the man is still on the loose. Police were going to contact the university so they can alert students during this period.

Im trying not to catastrophise and ruminate on what could have been.

I’m not sure how to edit the title?

@Idstillratherbepaddleboarding. My DD was assaulted in a Tesco Express. CCTV wiped. Police will do nothing. Neither do they care.

This is awful. I really hope they catch him. He must do it all the time. The CCTV should be able to identify him.

I hope your son is recovering. What a horrible world we live in. X

You poor lot. Absolutely horrendous!
Does your son have any physical evidence that anything happened to him whilst he was out? Did the police take samples?

Nothing obvious bar a needle puncture wound on shoulder but thankfully not signs of sexual or physical assault. He is feeling generally achey today but probably from seizures and hitting the floor when he collapsed. Yes samples were taken, as they called me and I said that he had never had seizures before so they were looking at drugs.

I didn't know what roofed means ?
Isn't the term spiked ? Maybe if you change it more people will know what you mean

Roofied is Rohypnol isn't it ?
"Spiked" I always think is anything from drugs to alcohol ?

Rohypnol doesn't stay long in the bloodstream which is part of the danger . You lose the evidence quickly

I’m sorry, I hope she is ok x

You can buy covers for your drinks, I always take one with me if I'm going to a social event because I was spiked with GHB, LSD and MDMA at a nightclub in manchester and ended up having a seizure.

I came away with PTSD, and developed agoraphobia for a while.

I would probably also urge him to stay with friends, and never share drinks with anybody, as I've also been done in by sharing a drink a friend offered, when they'd mixed MDMA into their OWN drink, and didn't tell me. This was very much a uni crowd.

I don't think he should let this stop him from socialising, but he does need to be more drink aware, and never finish a drink that he hasn't had his eyes on the entire time. Spikings can be so fast.

If he thinks a drink tastes salty, he should also not drink it. That's a clear GHB/rohypnol marker. If he thinks he's drunk something salty, then he needs to go get checked out right away, tell a barman, tell a friend, always be in sight of someone who can get him to emergency services etc.

Thank you unfortunately this was a needle spiking where he was injected in his shoulder ☹️

Christ, that's awful. It's hard to protect yourself against something like that.

If the club are uncooperative and there's no CCTV I would advise him to stay clear of gay bars, it seems like whoever did this might have the gumption to try it on at multiple locations.

It's very common. I hear it used all the time. Im not sure why you are trying to tell us it isn't. Google the word roofied and you will get lots of results explaining.

I am so sorry this happened to your son. In all the threads on here about what to take to university etc, I always post about the need to warn your DC about the risks, make sure they do a first aid course, find out how to get help and so on. These things are much more important than whether they need pots and pans.
Some posters on here will know that my son would be alive if his mate had put him in the recovery position. A parent in my bereavement group lost their son due to spiking.
I am glad your son is ok. and I hope he will get support and help to get over this.
Unfortunately the police rarely follow these things up.

I’m so sorry this has happened to your child op at what should be an exciting time for him.

i personally dont think it’s enough to go after the horrid person who did this ‘just’ for spiking - actually injecting someone is harming their body and I hope comes with additional punishment. I hope your child is recovering well and the police and club take this as seriously as it is.

@Fraida thanks

Now are all educated on both terms .

I hope your son is ok 🌻

‘roofied’ is a very common term for being spiked (specifically with rohypnol, also known as ‘roofies’) and was used when I was at university which was at least 20 years ago.

You’re making yourself look rather foolish here, I’m afraid. Just because you’ve not heard it, doesn’t mean it’s not real.

So sorry OP and your DS. I hope he will be ok and can get help and support from the uni. They seem to be pretty good at this ime. It really is appalling,

My DD is at uni and says it happens all the time and how careful you have to be. She mentioned that in her circle of friends that they never wear backless clothes and cover their shoulders. Although a needle will go through fabric, it just means they feel a bit safer. What a thing to have to plan for in a night out, All because some low life scumbag wants to spike someone.