How social media challenge claimed 13-year-old’s life

Abdullateef Fowewe

A family in Southern California is mourning the loss of their 13-year-old son, Nnamdi Glenn Ohaeri Jr., who reportedly died after attempting a dangerous social media challenge.

It was gathered that the decease parents found him unresponsive in his bedroom on the morning of February 3, just hours after they had spent the previous night watching the Grammy Awards together.

According to a report by Hindustan Times News, initially, it seemed like Ohaeri Jr. had taken his own life, but his parents found that hard to believe. His mother immediately performed CPR, while his father, Nnamdi Ohaeri Sr., rushed to get help from a neighbour and called the police.

Sadly, despite their efforts, the teenager was pronounced dead.
Determined to understand what happened, they began investigating on their own. Their search led them to a shocking discovery, he had reportedly learned about a dangerous social media challenge that encourages participants to cut off their oxygen supply to the point of unconsciousness.

The challenge believed to have played a role in Ohaeri Jr.’s death is similar to the “blackout challenge,” a viral TikTok trend that previously resulted in several child fatalities. The challenge, which encourages participants to hold their breath or restrict oxygen flow, has led to legal action from grieving parents against the social media platform in the past.

However, Ohaeri Jr. did not have social media accounts and had strict parental controls on his phone, his parents said. This has led them to suspect that he may have learned about the challenge from his classmates.

The grieving father, Ohaeri Sr., expressed his deep sorrow and regret, wondering if he could have done more to protect his son.

“I’m going through the Rolodex of guilt now, like, ‘Did we check in more? Should I have not been as firm four years ago?’” he expressed in tears.

He also acknowledged that while he had openly discussed issues like drugs with his children, he had never thought to warn them about the dangers of social media challenges.

“We don’t talk about not following social media trends or playing social media games,” he admitted. Adding “And maybe we need to.”

A GoFundMe fundraiser set up for the family, which has raised more than $74,000, describes him as “a vibrant, kind, loving, beautiful young man” who was a devoted son, brother, friend, athlete, and leader.

In an update following the teen’s funeral on February 14, his father wrote about the unimaginable pain of losing his child.

“It has been 15 days since Deuce passed away, and this feeling still
does not seem real.

“We never would have thought one of our children would be the face of a GoFundMe campaign, and yet here we are,” he said.

The family continues to struggle with grief, trying to support their three other sons. “We remain paralyzed in thought and sorrow in trying to fully understand why,” Ohaeri Sr. said.