AURORA, Colo. — A 12-year-old boy from Aurora, Colorado is in critical condition after trying the "blackout challenge" seen on social media platforms like TikTok, according to multiple local news outlets.
Joshua Haileyesus is currently on life-support and doctors say his survival is "extremely unlikely," according to a GoFundMe page set up for the 12-year-old. KCNC reports, doctors have also told relatives the boy is brain dead and they need to "prepare to say goodbye."
“[The doctors] told me the bad news that he’s not going to survive, he’s not going to make it,” Joshua’s father, Haileyesus Zeryihun, told KCNC. “I was begging them on the floor, pleading to see if they can give me some time, not to give up on him. If I just give up on him, I feel like I’m just walking away from my son.”
The boy's GoFundMe page says on March 22 he was found "breathless on the bathroom floor" by his twin brother who tried to resuscitate him until help arrived and Joshua was taken to the hospital.
“His twin brother is devastated and misses him very much and can only talk about bringing him home,” organizers of a local communal prayer gathering told CBS4.
Joshua is known as an "intelligent, funny, caring, and gifted" boy, according to his GoFundMe page. He has plans of joining the Army before becoming a first responder, organizers say.
The "blackout challenge," which has become popular on social media sites such as TikTok, dares people to choke themselves until they lose consciousness.
A statement released to the Associated Press by TikTok on Tuesday expressed “profound sympathies” for the boy and his family.
“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,” the statement read. “We also block related hashtags and searches to discourage people from participating in or sharing potentially dangerous content.”
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