A Scottish mum has blamed a viral social media 'Blackout Challenge' seen on TikTok for the death of her teenager.
Leon Brown passed away at the age of 14, with his body discovered in his bedroom. His devastated mum Lauryn Keating has said the 'Blackout Challenge' on social media may have been the cause of his death.
The same dangerous online challenge is allegedly responsible for the tragic death of 12-year-old Archie Battersbee of Essex.
The deadly challenge encourages people to restrict their breath until they fall unconscious. This can cause low levels of oxygen in the brain that can lead to seizures, serious injury or death.
Leon’s mum, 30-year-old Lauryn, told our sister title the Daily Record: "One of Leon's friends told me he had been doing the challenge on Facetime with them after seeing it on TikTok.
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“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.
"They aren't worth 'likes' or whatever they are doing it for."
Keating discovered her son unresponsive in his bedroom after he attempted the challenge on FaceTime with his friends. She has since issued warnings about the challenge to other families.
"I went on TikTok and wrote out words similar to blackout challenge. The amount of video results that came up on it is ridiculous,” said Keating.
It is understood Leon and his friends had seen the 'Blackout Challenge' on TikTok.
The same viral challenge was also responsible for the death of 12-year-old Archie Battersbee who suffered a fatal brain injury in April of this year.
Archie was also found unconscious by his mother Hollie Dance at his home in Essex. He passed away after his family lost a long-running legal battle to continue the treatment that was keeping him alive.
Leon was a popular young pupil at Our Lady's High School in Cumbernauld. Keating said, "He was the happiest, funniest wee boy ever.
"He was a bit of a class clown and he liked to make people laugh. Everything was always a joke and a carry on to Leon. He was just a wee cheeky boy. But he meant so much to me."
TikTok told the Record it has measures in place to prevent users from sharing videos on the trend and searching the term 'Blackout Challenge' takes users to a safety centre on the app. Users are also able to report any videos that contain graphic content.
TikTok also deletes videos of the challenge from the platform.
A TikTok spokesperson said: "Our deepest sympathies go out to Leon Brown's family during this incredibly difficult time. 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."
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “We were made aware of the sudden death of a 14-year-old boy at Ochilview Court in Cumbernauld around 8am on Thursday, 25 August, 2022.
“There are no suspicious circumstances surrounding his death and a report will be submitted to the Procurator Fiscal.”
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