A young boy has died after attempting a viral challenge circulating on TikTok.
Joshua Haileyesus, a 12-year-old boy from Aurora in Colorado, had been hospitalized and left comatose after his brother discovered him lying unconscious on the bathroom floor on March 22.
It is believed that the sixth-grader was attempting the so-called "Blackout Challenge" - which sees its participants attempt to asphyxiate themselves to induce a state of euphoria via oxygen starvation, with the whole thing recorded for social media.
The stunt has already existed for a number of years under a number of other names, including the "Passout Challenge", "The Choking Game", "Speed Dreaming" and "The Fainting Game," but has recently gained newfound traction on platforms such as TikTok.
On Tuesday, April 13, Joshua's family confirmed that he had passed away after 19 days on life support, in a statement posted to the GoFundMe set up to pay for his medical expenses.
Take a look at this news report on Joshua's initial hospitalization in the video below:The statement in question reads:
"We would like to update everyone that this evening, after fighting the good fight on life support for 19 days, Joshua has gone off to be with the Lord.
"To everyone who has prayed relentlessly and shared our burden during this trying time, we thank you. Your prayers and your love have comforted us and we are grateful for your support.
"We will be sharing funeral arrangements in the coming days for those who are interested in attending."
The statement continues: "We are also concerned for other families who like ourselves, may not be aware of the existence of the Blackout Challenge and others like it.
"We urge the community to spend awareness about Joshua and the real risks involved in not having knowledge of what kinds of activities children are involved in."
Per People Magazine, spokesperson for the social media platform has since released a statement in which they expressed sympathies for the boy's family, and warned other users to avoid replicating dangerous stunts, saying:
"At TikTok, we have no higher priority than protecting the safety of our community, and content that promotes or glorifies dangerous behavior is strictly prohibited and promptly removed to prevent it from becoming a trend on our platform."
"We also block related hashtags and searches to discourage people from participating in or sharing potentially dangerous content."
People reports that the Aurora Police Department's Crimes Against Children's Unit has launched an investigation into the circumstances of Joshua's death.
