{"id":29266,"date":"2025-06-30T13:55:34","date_gmt":"2025-06-30T13:55:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/?p=29266"},"modified":"2025-06-30T13:55:34","modified_gmt":"2025-06-30T13:55:34","slug":"boy-12-dies-after-taking-part-in-dangerous-social-media-blackout-challenge-as-loved-one-speaks-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/?p=29266","title":{"rendered":"Boy, 12, dies after taking part in dangerous social media ‘blackout’ challenge as loved one speaks out"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A 12-year-old boy has died after reportedly taking part in a dangerous social media challenge, which also claimed the life of an American teen earlier this year.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The schoolboy, identified only as Sebastian of Castleford in\u00a0England<\/a>, is understood to have been celebrating his little brother’s first holy communion when he was found unresponsive, on Friday (June 27).<\/p>\n

His father Marcin believes he was taking part in the\u00a0‘blackout challenge’<\/a>\u00a0that has circulated on\u00a0social media<\/a>\u00a0– which involves participants choking themselves, often with a scarf, to deprive their brain of oxygen.<\/p>\n

“Police were called by ambulance colleagues to an address in Manor Grove, Castleford, at 6:06 p.m. [ on June 27] following reports of concern for the safety of a child,” West Yorkshire Police said in a statement.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\"Sebastian\"Sebastian<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Sebastian was just 12 years old when he was found unresponsive on Friday (GoFundMe)<\/cite><\/div>\n

“Officers attended the location and the boy was taken to hospital where it was later confirmed that he had died. Enquiries are ongoing on behalf of the West Yorkshire Coroner to establish exactly what happened.<\/p>\n

“The incident is not being treated as suspicious.”<\/p>\n

A\u00a0GoFundMe<\/a>\u00a0page has since been set up by loved ones close to Sebastian’s grieving\u00a0parents<\/a>, to help cover funeral expenses, psychological support and loss of earnings.<\/p>\n

“Sebastian was only 12 years old. A boy full of dreams, passion, and incredible talent. He taught himself to play the guitar and keyboard, and he loved to draw. Always smiling, kind, and full of joy – everyone who met him was touched by his gentle spirit,” it read in part.<\/p>\n

“He had loving parents who did everything they could to give him a safe and happy childhood. They would have given him the stars. Sadly, one brief moment changed everything. A dangerous internet challenge took his life.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\"The\"The<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The ‘blackout challenge’ is a social media trend which first appeared on TikTok in 2021 and has since claimed the lives of numerous children (Getty stock)<\/cite><\/div>\n

“What happened is a tragedy beyond words. No parent should ever have to bury their child. No one should ever endure such heartbreak. That\u2019s why we\u2019re reaching out today, asking for your help.”<\/p>\n

It went on to warn parents of the dangers of\u00a0social media<\/a>, urging those with kids to talk to their children about what they watch online, who they talk to and what inspires them.<\/p>\n

“Let it be a quiet call for awareness – a reminder to stay close, to talk more, to protect the ones we love. So that other children may live. So that no other parent has to experience this unimaginable pain,” it adds.<\/p>\n

You can donate to the GoFundMe\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It comes just four months after 13-year-old\u00a0Nnamdi Glenn Ohaeri Jr.<\/a>, of Murrieta, California, was found unresponsive in his bedroom having participated in the ‘blackout challenge’ that claimed the lives of several children in 2021.<\/p>\n

He was discovered by his mom who performed CPR on her son, but it was too late.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    A 12-year-old boy has died after reportedly taking part in a dangerous social media challenge, which also claimed the life of an American teen earlier this year. The … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":29267,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29266","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29266","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=29266"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29266\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29268,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29266\/revisions\/29268"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/29267"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=29266"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=29266"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=29266"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}