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Garrett Pope Jr: South Carolina 11-Year-Old Dies Playing The ‘Choking Game’ [Video]

By Patricia Ramirez
Published on: 14:18 PST, Sep 4, 2016

In a tragic story out of South Carolina, 11-year-old Garrett Pope Jr. reportedly lost his life playing the infamous “choking game.” The body of the Indian Land, South Carolina sixth grader was found in his bedroom sometime on Wednesday, allegedly after he played the choking game and pushed it too far, something that has happened frequently in the past.

The choking game is a “game” in which people (usually children, almost always boys) deliberately choke themselves to the point of unconsciousness. Reportedly, the point of the game is to feel the “rush” of waking up from unconsciousness. Unfortunately for many curious youngsters who try the game out, children like Garrett Pope Jr. of South Carolina, all too often, the game ends in tragedy such as brain damage or even death.

“He took this terrible ‘game’ too far.”

As Fox News reports, South Carolina 11-year-old Garrett Pope Jr. is just one of dozens of children that have died from playing the choking game in recent years. Between 1995 and 2007, 82 kids reportedly accidentally took their own lives playing the choking game in one form or another. Many of the victims of the deadly game use props or tools to choke themselves, things such as belts and leashes. It is not known what “aid,” if any, South Carolina boy Garrett Pope Jr. used in the game that cut his life short.

The family of Garrett Pope Jr. has decided to speak out about the dangers of the choking game and to warn parents and children that it can take the lives of the unwary in an instant. Reportedly, Garrett Pope Jr.’s mother first heard of the choking game over the summer; a football coach reportedly discussed the game and the problems it causes with the mom of the South Carolina boy.

She told the local media that she mentioned the game to her 11-year-old son Garrett, but he claimed to have never heard of it before. It is unclear whether that conversation with his mother is what prompted Garrett Pope Jr. to begin playing the deadly choking game, or if he had been playing it before his mom brought it up.

One thing’s for sure, the mother of Garrett Pope Jr. of South Carolina wishes she had spoken about the deadly game in more depth with her son while she had the chance.

“I should have pushed it further. If you talk to your kids and they said they don’t know about it, don’t stop there. You educate them on what it is, it’s not a game and it can kill you.”

As The Lancaster News reports, South Carolina boy Garrett Pope Jr.’s death will be discussed with his classmates in the near future. School administrators plan to discuss the choking game in depth with students, and the reason is two-fold. First and foremost, the school wants to help friends and classmates of Garrett’s to come to terms with their grief. Secondly, the school wants to take all precautions necessary to prevent additional choking game-related deaths.

Like suicides, these kinds of deaths often happen in clusters, something officials and parents are diligently hoping to avoid through discussion, supervision, and education.

“We have been made aware of these parents’ concerns and will investigate this to take every step possible to address their concerns in an effort to protect all of our children.”

Reportedly, the family is unsure where the South Carolina 11-year-old learned the details about the game. They have sifted through the family’s electronic devices, which don’t indicate any recent searches on the subject. Parents and investigators are leaning toward the theory that Garrett Pope Jr. learned how to “play” the game from classmates or neighborhood children, something causing further concern in the community.

Garrett Pope Jr.’s official cause of death was accidental asphyxiation; his family has no reason to believe that he may have intentionally taken his life, and investigators are calling the situation a “textbook” case of a choking game death.

Funeral services for South Carolina 11-year-old Garrett Pope Jr. are scheduled to take place on Tuesday evening.

[Image via Pope Family/Twitter]

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