First responders have been referred to as to the house of Harris Wolobah, a 14-year-old from West Worchester, MA, who discovered him not respiratory and unresponsive on Friday. He was pronounced lifeless at an area hospital.
In a put up on the crowdfunding web site GoFundMe, the place his household is elevating cash to cowl funeral bills, kin describe his dying as ensuing from problems from taking part within the “One Chip Problem.”
The put up states:
On September 1, my aunt Lois’ youngest son, Harris, handed away unexpectedly on the age of 14 from what we suspect to be problems as a result of “one chip problem” (post-mortem pending).
The ache our household is experiencing is unimaginable. Harris was a light-weight that lit up the room along with his presence and delicate allure. He was an clever, quirky and extremely proficient younger man.
Worcester Public Colleges Superintendent Rachel Monárrez confirmed the dying on the district’s web site:
It’s with a heavy coronary heart I share that we misplaced a rising star, Harris Wolobah, who was a sophomore scholar at Doherty Memorial Excessive Faculty. As a mom and educator, I can’t think about how arduous that is on his household, associates and academics. My coronary heart goes out to all who knew and cherished him.
A health worker is investigating the reason for Harris’ dying.
The snack model Paqui sells individually wrapped chips made with scorching peppers in a coffin-shaped package deal for $17.99 at Walmart:
The web site for the corporate’s One Chip Problem states: “This yr’s vicious chip incorporates Carolina Reaper Pepper and Naga Viper Pepper for a very twisted expertise.” The web site additionally posts this warning:
A development on TikTok options movies of individuals unwrapping the one chip coated in pepper and consuming it, with some movies garnering lots of of hundreds of likes.
Viral TikTok developments have been identified to trigger deaths. In 2021, 9-year-old LaTerius “TJ” Smith Jr from Tennessee, 12-year-old Joshua Haileyesus from Colorado, and a 12-year-old boy from Oklahoma all died because of the TikTok “Blackout Problem,” the place individuals choked themselves till they misplaced consciousness.
We ship our deepest sympathies to the Wolobah household for the tragic lack of Harris, who, from all accounts, was simply doing what youngsters do on social media. We want them solace within the troublesome days to return.
We remind the allergic neighborhood that as harmful as this development is, it may be particularly so for people with meals allergic reactions. Though the reason for dying on this case has but to be established, anaphylaxis is at all times a potential final result of challenges involving meals that flow into on TikTok and different social media platforms.
For households with youngsters and teenagers, please take the time to debate these developments and inform them of the hazards concerned. And please remind them to take two epinephrine auto-injectors in all places, each time.
We’ve misplaced so many youngsters to inadvertent publicity this yr. Let’s do every little thing we presumably can to stop them.
