Sioux City mother: Daughter injured by viral online prank

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — A Sioux City mother has complained to the local school board after she said her sixth-grade daughter suffered a broken arm and elbow at the hands of two classmates carrying out a viral online prank.

The woman said Monday night during a school board meeting that her daughter had been hurt on Feb. 7, when two West Middle School classmates cajoled her into a jumping contest, then kicked the girl’s feet out from under her mid-jump, causing her to fall on her shoulder, the Sioux City Journal reported. Called the “skull breaker challenge,” the prank was made popular on the social media platform TikTok and has led to reports of children across the country suffering serious head and other injuries.

The woman complained that a physical education teacher who was in charge was distracted by his cellphone when the incident happened and that school officials didn’t report the incident to the girl’s parents or seek immediate medical care.

“She has no motion in her fingers, no motion in her wrist,” the mother said. “She may never play volleyball again.”

School board members did not respond to the complaint during the meeting. Sioux City Community Schools Superintendent Paul Gausman did not immediately return a message left Wednesday seeking comment.