Schoolboy dies doing online ‘blackout challenge’
The devastated mum of a Scots teen has issued a warning after her son died doing a dangerous TikTok challenge with his pals.
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The devastated mum of a teenager has issued a warning after her son died doing a dangerous online challenge.
Leon Brown, from Scotland, tragically died aged just 14 on August 25.
Mum Lauryn Keating told the Daily Record the youngster was attempting the “blackout challenge” before she found him unresponsive in his room.
The Sun reported the sickening trend has spread across social media sites, and the parents of 12-year-old Archie Battersbee, who died after spending several months on life support, believe he was taking part in the same challenge.
Lauryn said her son had attempted the dangerous craze after watching it on TikTok.
She said: “One of Leon‘s friends told me he had been doing the challenge on FaceTime with them after seeing it on TikTok.
“My Leon thought he would be the one to try it first. Him and his friends probably thought it was a laugh and a joke.
“One of the kids who he was on FaceTime with told me what he had done. She said they thought they would wake up. But Leon didn‘t come back around. It went horribly wrong.
“I had heard of this challenge, because of what happened to Archie Battersbee.
“But you just don‘t expect your own child to do it. Please warn them, these online challenges aren’t worth their lives.”
We told how hundreds of tributes poured in for Leon after the devastating news.
A balloon release also took place to honour the tragic teen.
A TikTok spokesperson said: “Our deepest sympathies go out to the family for their tragic loss.
“The safety of our community is our priority, and we take any claim about a dangerous challenge very seriously.
“Content of this nature is prohibited on our platform and would be removed if found.”
This article originally appeared in The Scottish Sun and was reproduced with permission
Originally published as Schoolboy dies doing online ‘blackout challenge’
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