Massachusetts teen dies after attempting viral blackout challenge on TikTok

A Massachusetts middle school student has died after he attempted the so-called “blackout challenge” on TikTok, his family said.

Nate Squires, 13, an eighth-grade student at Amherst Regional Middle School, suffered fatal injuries when he tried last week to play the social media game, which challenges participants to choke themselves until they pass out for several seconds, the Daily Hampshire Gazette reported. “On June 12th, Nate was found unresponsive at home after attempting to do what is known on social media platforms as the ‘black out challenge,'” his aunt, Samantha Thomas, wrote on a GoFundMe page.