A Massachusetts family is grieving the loss of a teenager who they claim died after participating in the viral Paqui “One Chip Challenge” with several of his peers.
The Paqui One Chip Challenge consists of consuming a single fried tortilla-style chip covered in a spice blend containing some of the world’s hottest peppers, including the Carolina Reaper and the Naga Viper Pepper. There are thousands of videos on TikTok of users participating in the challenge, with some videos racking up millions of views—Shaq even participated in the challenge on live TV. Popular Twitch streamer iShowSpeed also did the challenge during a stream and called the police in distress afterward claiming he couldn’t breath.
@speedbestiee IShowSpeed calls 911 after trying ONE CHIP challenge #ishowspeedclipz #ishowspeed #ishowspeedyt #viral #onechipchallenge2022 #onechip
♬ original sound – SpeedBestiee
In the case of 14-year-old Harris Wolobah, though, the Paqui trend was not all fun and games and is believed to have had deadly consequences for the Worchester teen. According to reports, Wolobah reportedly participated in the One Chip Challenge with other members of the Doherty Memorial High School basketball team. His family says his death was caused by complications from eating an extremely spicy chip and alleges he should’ve been sent to the hospital rather than the nurse’s office shortly after engaging in the challenge.
Wolobah’s family alleges that the school nurse sent him home with a stomach ache and that he started to feel better later in the evening but claims the sophomore collapsed shortly while getting ready for basketball practice. He was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead. An autopsy is still pending but Wolobah’s family is almost certain the spicy chip played a roll in the death of their son.
Watch the full broadcast for details about the unsettling story below.