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A seven-year-old girl has been left in a coma with life-threatening injuries after a toy unexpectedly exploded in her face while she attempted a viral challenge she\u2019d seen online \u2014 a tragedy her devastated family says could have been \u201ccompletely avoided\u201d if platforms had acted sooner. \u00a0<\/p>\n
The horrific accident happened in Houston, Texas, when little\u00a0Lily Harper<\/strong>\u00a0tried recreating a \u201cDIY rocket\u201d trend that\u2019s been circulating on\u00a0TikTok\u00a0and\u00a0YouTube\u00a0over the past month. The challenge encourages children to mix household chemicals inside plastic toys or bottles to create mini \u201cexplosions.\u201d<\/p>\n According to investigators, Lily and a friend had watched several clips of the experiment before attempting it using a small toy capsule and a household cleaner. Within seconds, the toy erupted violently \u2014 sending shrapnel and toxic fumes directly into her face.<\/p>\n \u201cIt sounded like a gunshot,\u201d her mother\u00a0told ABC13\u00a0through tears. \u201cI found her lying on the floor, bleeding and barely breathing.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cA 7-year-old Texas girl is in a coma after a viral TikTok trend caused a toy to explode in her face.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Doctors at\u00a0Texas Children\u2019s Hospital\u00a0confirmed that Lily sustained severe burns, facial fractures, and vision damage from the explosion. \u201cThe blast was powerful enough to embed fragments into her skin,\u201d said trauma surgeon Dr. Carla Mendoza. \u201cIt\u2019s a miracle she\u2019s alive.\u201d<\/p>\n Police have launched an investigation into the incident and are reviewing the social media posts that allegedly inspired the children to try the experiment. \u201cWe\u2019ve seen an alarming rise in dangerous DIY \u2018science\u2019 trends targeting kids,\u201d said Harris County Sheriff\u00a0<\/p>\n The viral trend, dubbed the \u201cRocket Pop Challenge,\u201d has already been flagged by safety watchdogs after several minor injuries were reported in other states. In one\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cMy daughter was just trying to have fun,\u201d Lily\u2019s father said in a statement shared with\u00a0<\/p>\n The video that inspired Lily\u2019s attempt has since been removed, but not before being viewed more than 9 million times across multiple platforms. Copies of it \u2014 featuring upbeat music and excited commentary \u2014 continue to circulate on smaller accounts despite community guidelines forbidding dangerous content. \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cParents are begging social media platforms to take down these \u2018DIY rocket\u2019 trends after a 7-year-old girl was critically injured.\u201d\u00a0@Reuters<\/p>\n Experts say this case highlights the growing failure of tech companies to protect children from unsafe viral stunts. \u201cThe algorithms don\u2019t care about age \u2014 they care about engagement,\u201d said\u00a0<\/p>\n Family friends have since launched a\u00a0GoFundMe\u00a0campaign to help cover Lily\u2019s medical expenses, which have already exceeded $400,000. \u201cShe\u2019s undergone two surgeries so far, and more are expected,\u201d the fundraiser reads. \u201cWe just want her to wake up and smile again.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n Meanwhile, angry parents across the country are calling on regulators to enforce stricter controls on what children can access online. \u201cHow many more kids have to end up in hospital before these apps take responsibility?\u201d one mother wrote on\u00a0<\/p>\n Doctors have placed Lily in a medically induced coma to reduce brain swelling and manage her pain. Her mother posted a photo of her daughter in the ICU surrounded by stuffed animals and handwritten notes from classmates. \u201cShe\u2019s our little rocket,\u201d she wrote on\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201c\u2018She\u2019s our little rocket,\u2019 her mom wrote, sharing a heartbreaking photo from the ICU. \u2018We never wanted her to take off this way.\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n As the story spreads, the online community has erupted in outrage. \u201cIt\u2019s horrifying that something meant for fun nearly killed her,\u201d one user wrote under the trending hashtag\u00a0#StopTheTrends<\/p>\n TikTok issued a brief statement saying it was \u201cdeeply saddened\u201d by the incident and was \u201cactively removing content associated with the challenge.\u201d But critics argue the response came far too late. \u201cYou can\u2019t just delete tragedy after it happens,\u201d wrote journalist\u00a0<\/p>\n Back in Houston, Lily\u2019s parents are clinging to hope. \u201cShe squeezed my hand today,\u201d her father said softly to\u00a0<\/p>\n Outside the hospital, a growing memorial of flowers, toys, and handwritten cards now lines the sidewalk. One note, scrawled in crayon by a classmate, reads: \u201cWake up soon, Lily. We miss your laugh.\u201d<\/p>\n Her story has become a grim reminder of how fast online \u201cfun\u201d can turn fatal \u2014 and how easily a single click can change a child\u2019s life forever. \u201cShe just wanted to do what everyone else was doing,\u201d her mother said. \u201cAnd now she\u2019s fighting for her life because of it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A seven-year-old girl has been left in a coma with life-threatening injuries after a toy unexpectedly exploded in her face while she attempted a viral challenge she\u2019d seen online \u2014 a tragedy…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1033,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1034","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hot-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t