Parents say 13-year-old son died after attempting dangerous social media challenge

Two Southern California parents are mourning the sudden death of their teen son, who they believe died after participating in a dangerous social media challenge.

Parents mourn death 13-year-old teen son

Nnamdi Glenn Ohaeri, Jr, affectionately known by friends and family as “Deuce,” was just 13 years old.

He was the eldest of four boys and loved music and playing sports, especially football. Coming from a military family in Murrieta, Ca., his family says Deuce enjoyed family activities and spending time with his loved ones.

Ohaeri Jr.’s mother and father found him unresponsive in his bedroom in Murrieta, Ca. in the morning of Monday, Feb. 3, after spending the previous day watching the Grammy Awards together, KTLA reported.

After finding Ohaeri Jr. unresponsive, his mother began performing CPR and his father called 911 while rushing over to a neighbor for help.

The teen was later pronounced deceased and, at the time, it appeared he had taken his own life.

13-year-old possibly participated in dangerous social media challenge

But his parents were skeptical, so they began investigating on their own, which led them to discover that their late son had learned of a dangerous social media challenge, KTLA reported.

It is unclear whether the teen’s death has been officially ruled a suicide or whether police are investigating the circumstances of his death.

Dangerous social media challenge

Similar dangerous TikTok challenges, like the “Blackout Challenge” encourage people to hold their breath until they pass out due to a lack of oxygen. TikTok is facing several lawsuits from parents who believe their children died after taking part in the viral trend.

The distraught parents said it’s the only thing that makes sense.

They said Ohaeri Jr. didn’t have any social media accounts and his phone had strict parental controls, so they believe he may have learned of the game from other students at school.

The family said they hope that sharing Deuce’s story will serve as a warning to other parents to be alert and aware of what their children may be exposed to on social media and through classmates.

Ohaeri, Sr. said he’s always been “mindful of influences and talking about, ‘Don’t do drugs and make good decisions,’” to his children. “But we don’t talk about not following social media trends or playing social media games and maybe we need to,” he said.

GoFundMe campaign

A GoFundMe fundraiser was created to help the teen’s family during this difficult time. As of today, the campaign has raised more than $75,000.

The 13-year-old was “a vibrant, kind, loving, beautiful young man, a son, a brother, a grandson, a nephew, a friend, a teammate, a bandmate, a leader, an athlete, who had a passion and incredible talent for football,” the GoFundMe description says.