A 12-year-old boy from Oklahoma, USA, died after taking part in a dangerous challenge at TikTok.
Shortly after midnight on Monday, July 19, police received a call to intervene in a residential complex in Bethany, Oklahoma, USA, where police found a boy unconscious.
The boy had scars around his neck and was taken to the University of Oklahoma Children’s Hospital, where he expired the next day.
According to News 9 television, the boy’s family members informed the police that the 12-year-old did not attempt suicide, but in fact took part in the Blackout Challenge, a dangerous new fashion on the popular social networking site TikTok.
When someone takes part in this dangerous challenge, then he deliberately suffocates himself, until they lose consciousness, to then upload the video to TikTok.
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Doctors have warned in the past about the dangers of participating in this challenge, which can sometimes even lead to death, as happened in the case of the 12-year-old.
At other times, according to doctors, the Blackout Challenge can cause fainting, seizures, and even brain damage.
Unfortunately, this little boy is not the first person to lose his life from this challenge.
According to the British tabloid The Sun, another 12-year-old, Joshua Hailegesous from Colorado, died in April 2021, while 14-year-old James Boyd-Gergely died last summer at his home in New South Wales, Australia.
“We would like to warn parents to stay busy with their children and take the time to check what they are doing on social media. Now, more than ever, due to lockdowns, children are bored and looking for ways to fill their time. “Social media is a very influential part of a child’s life and should be deeply controlled by parents,” said an Oklahoma police officer at Bethany, where the 12-year-old died in the dangerous TikTok challenge.
