Just weeks after 12-year-old Archie took his own life in a TikTok challenge in the UK, a young Scotsman has once again fallen victim to the same challenge. The mother found 14-year-old Leon Brown unconscious in his bedroom. “I heard about this challenge,” the distraught mother told a British news site. “But you don’t think your own child would do that, do you?”
It was only recently that Brit Archie’s life support gear was taken out after weeks of courtroom wrangling. He suffered serious brain injuries during the so-called “Blackout Challenge” on TikTok, was in a coma and was declared terminally ill. Now the dangerous test of courage has claimed another fatality.
Leon’s friend unpacked over a test of courage
Lauryn Keating found her son Leon unconscious in his room in their Cumbernauld home – he also suffered fatal brain injuries and died shortly after. “One of Leon’s friends told me he did the challenge on FaceTime after seeing it on TikTok,” the 30-year-old told the Daily Record. The air supply is interrupted until you become unconscious. “My Leon was the first to try. He and his friends probably thought it was a joke,” the mother explains.
But Leon never woke up after the challenge. “I heard about this challenge because of what happened to Archie Battersbee,” says Keating, who never imagined her own son could do something like this. She is now calling on other parents to warn their children about such dangerous social media bravery tests.
Mother found many videos on TikTok about the challenge
TikTok lamented the recent passing, stating, “This kind of content is banned on our platform and will be removed if found.” Every tip is taken very seriously. The late boy’s mother found many such videos showing this courage test on the platform. “I went on TikTok and searched for terms similar to ‘blackout challenge’. The amount of video results that came out is absurd,” Keating said.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
