A viral prank called the “skull breaker challenge,” made popular by the social media platform TikTok, is continuing to wreak havoc as more parents warn that their children are sustaining serious head injuries because of it.
An Arkansas teen at Southeast Arkansas Preparatory High School sustained a concussion just last week when his friends decided to pull the prank on him.
‘SKULL BREAKER CHALLENGE’ GOING VIRAL ON TIK TOK IS DANGEROUS, DOCTORS WARN
“They said all you got to do is jump,” Ke’Avion Hearn told KARK. “I jumped, they kind of kicked me out under my legs so I can’t land. All I remember is being on the floor.”
The challenge, which originated in Spain, involves three people standing next to each other with the two outside persons jumping while the center person remains still. When the person in the middle jumps, the two outside members kick that person’s legs forward, throwing them off-balance where they hit their heads.
“skull breaker” challenge is the new headache in schools. Several children have been fractured. The trend is viral #skullbreakerchallenge2811:48 PM – Feb 14, 2020Twitter Ads info and privacy114 people are talking about this
Ke’Avion was taken to an area hospital where he was treated for a concussion. His mother, Kimberly Hearn, says the situation could have been worse for her son, who underwent several surgeries and chemotherapy for a brain tumor, KARK reported.
“Why would you target him? He’s been through enough,” she said. “He doesn’t deserve that, no child deserves that.”
A New Jersey family experienced a similar scare after they say their 13-year-old son was hospitalized a month ago after he fell victim to the same cruel prank.
“I was just shocked. I was beside myself that two kids pulled a prank on my son and that landed him in the hospital,” Marc Shenker told WABC.
Shenker said his son is still experiencing concussion-like symptoms that have forced him to be placed on academic restriction.
An Arizona mother also shared her story earlier this month after her young son was left with serious head and facial injuries when two students pulled the prank on him.
“He landed hard flat on his back and head, as he struggled to get up he lost consciousness, he fell forward landing on his face,” Valerie Hodson explained in a Facebook post.
A TikTok spokesperson told Fox News in a statement that was working to remove any videos about the prank.
“The safety of our users is our top priority at TikTok, and we do not allow content that encourages or replicates dangerous challenges that might lead to injury. The behavior in question is a violation of our Community Guidelines and we will continue to remove this content from our platform.”
Fox News’ Gerren Keith Gaynor contributed to this report.