It seems like every other week there is a disturbing new viral trend out there which is only destined for a bad ending. But, for one ‘game’, its trend has already proved fatal, again.
In an incredibly dangerous trend called ‘the choking game’, people either choke themselves, or get their friends to choke them until the brain is starved of oxygen and they pass out – bringing on a sense of temporary euphoria.
Things turned inevitably tragic when a 12-year-old boy called Karnel Haughton from Birmingham, died while on half-term break from school last week playing the so called ‘game’, reports the Mirror.
Karnel is thought to have been playing the ‘game’ in his bedroom when he lost consciousness, before being discovered by his mum Gemma at around 9.45pm on Wednesday.
He was rushed to hospital but died a short time later, leading many friends and parents to speak out about the dangers of this terrifying game.
A woman who claims to be the best friend of Karnel’s mum, Gemma, posted the following warning out to parents and children onto Facebook which has since gone viral:
My best friend Gemma lost her son Karnel Haughton who was just 12 years old. It has been a massive shock to everyone and we are all absolutely devastated. He was a beautiful, popular, clever and outgoing lad and his friends have already paid some beautiful tributes towards him.
The family have decided that it is time to make it clear exactly what happened and to help raise awareness of a new craze amongst youngsters which is becoming terrifyingly popular online.
At first we did not know exactly what happened but some of Karnel’s friends have come forward and told the police and family about a game / craze that has become popular amongst youngsters on the Internet and social media called the choking game.
Before the tragedy took place Karnel had been telling his friends about a new game he had heard of called the choking game. This game has been around several years but seems to have become worryingly popular again.
It involves either putting your hands around your friends neck or tying something around your own neck to starve the brain of oxygen and pass out, inducing temporary euphoria.
It is so so so important that you talk to your children and make sure they know that one of many consequences of playing this game is sadly death.
A GoFundMe page has since been set up by friends to send out a further warning about the choking game, while also raising money for Karnel’s funeral and raising money for his grandmother to fly over from America.
