Mum's stark warning after kids almost kill son, 10, playing viral choking game
Ten-year-old Kaie Wilmott was playing in a field near his home when an older boy pinned him down to the ground and forced him to take part in a viral social media craze that left him 'blue and purple'.
He was allegedly choked and strangled by the boy, who 'found the game entertaining', before his two cousins managed to rush to his aid and stop the life-threatening attack.
His mum, Lisa Hill, of Chesterfield, has spoken out about her horror to warn other parents of the disturbing 'Tap Out' challenge this school holidays, after Kaie's 'near-death experience' on Monday, August 7.
"When he came back home and told me what happened it sent my blood running cold. My son could have died, or I could have been sitting at his side in intensive care because he could be critically ill," she said.
She has issued a warning to parents after Kaie was almost killed by another boy (Lisa Hill / SWNS)
The 10-year-old was pinned down and choked as part of the viral 'Tap Out' game (Lisa Hill / SWNS)The object of the social media game is to choke someone until they are on the verge of passing out, at which point they 'tap out' to tell the other player to stop. But Lisa claims her son was forced to take part in the challenge against his will, and almost died as a result. Kaie said he had refused to play but was suddenly attacked by another child.
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"He mentioned this game to me three or four weeks before and I sat with him and got him to explain in detail what this game actually was," Lisa explained. "I told him he wasn't allowed to play but the kids did not listen when he told them that. I imagine my son is not the only child that this has happened to. I want to raise awareness that this game is still circulating, how dangerous it is, and what repercussions can come from playing it."
Following the incident, Lisa posted on Facebook to warn other parents. She wrote: "This game is extremely dangerous and can cause serious injury or even death. The way I felt and still feel after learning what happened to my boy has shook me to the core and if I can help prevent this happening again by sharing my story then it is the right thing to share this about this 'new game'. Police are involved and investigations are being made. Please share this post to make others aware of this potentially deadly game."
Lisa said she called the police on Wednesday, August 9, but said she did not hear anything back until Sunday, August 13, when she decided to ring the officers again. She was then told that the case wasn't allocated to the officer until Saturday, and the officer who was allocated the case was off for the next four days.
The aim of the challenge is to choke someone until they are on the verge of passing out and 'tap out' (Lisa Hill / SWNS)"I was told by officers that this case was a priority case, because of the nature of what happened," Lisa said. "But going from August 9 when I reported the incident, until August 18, that's nine days when nothing is getting done. And I don't think it's good enough. If it was adults, who had done this, the police would have been out virtually straightaway. Because it's children, I feel that they're not taking it seriously.
"But when this happened, my boy went blue and purple and could have died. This case could very well have been a murder case. You go to the police because they have an authority figure. And you expect the police to be able to deal with these situations appropriately and accordingly. And I was told that this case was a priority yet nothing has been done.
"I appreciate it wasn't the officer's fault, but why would they assign this case to an officer who only works nights and has four days off? How are they supposed to contact me in order to get this situation sorted? It doesn't make sense at all. I'm sure it could have been assigned to a different officer."
A spokesperson for Derbyshire Police said: "We received a report on August 9 that a child had been assaulted off Kinder Road by another child on August 7. All incidents are graded based on the threat and risk that is posed. With this incident having taken place two days prior, and the mother of the child confirming that her child was safeguarded an officer was assigned to the incident on August 12 and then made contact with the mother on August 15.
"We are sorry that the mother has not received the level of service that she expected and we will be making contact to understand her concerns in order to improve our response. Incidents such as this are taken seriously and a proportionate investigation will be carried out."
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