Snapchat responded on Monday after the son of OWN TV presenter Dr. Laura Berman, 16, died of an apparent weekend drug overdose that she said she obtained using the popular app.
“Our deepest condolences go out to Samuel Berman Chapman’s family and friends and we are heartbroken by his death,” a company spokesman said in a statement. “We are committed to working together with the authorities in this case and in all instances where Snapchat is used for illegal purposes. We have zero tolerance for using Snapchat to buy or sell illegal drugs.”
The spokesman said the company is “constantly improving” its ability to detect drug-related activities.
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Dr. Laura Berman arrives at the 36th Annual Gala of the Gracie Awards on May 24, 2011 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Valerie Macon / Getty Images)
Berman first shared the news of his son’s death on Instagram on Sunday, writing how he overdosed in his room at the family home. Berman added that he had the drugs delivered to his home in a “trial that went wrong”.
During an interview with NBC Nightly News on Monday night, Berman said she went into her room and “he was on the floor. He left.”
“My beautiful boy is gone. 16 years. A shelter at home, ”she wrote on Instagram, along with a photo of her and her son hugging. “My heart is completely broken and I’m not sure how to keep breathing. I publish this now just so that another child can die.”
She said a drug dealer connected with her son on the app and may have received Xanax mixed with fentanyl, a synthetic opioid pain reliever, according to Fox 11 in Los Angeles.
Berman warned other parents to “take care of their children and especially watch SNAPCHAT”.
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“A drug dealer connected with him on Snapchat and gave him fentinyl [sic] tied Xanax or Percocet (toxicology will tell) and he overdosed in his room. They do it because it hooks people even more and it’s good for business, but it causes an overdose and kids don’t know what they’re taking, “she wrote on Instagram.
Bill Bodner, the special agent in charge of the DEA in Los Angeles, told Fox 11 that what happened to Sammy is happening to other children in the United States
He said the counterfeit pills advertised on social media are made to look like real Xanax or other types of drugs, but are typically fentanyl – which can be deadly.
“It is something done in a filthy clandestine laboratory in Mexico. There is no quality control. The dosage is extremely inconsistent. It only takes 2.5 mg of fentanyl to kill it,” Bodner told the station.
Berman said his son, who she calls Sammy, was a “straight student A” and was preparing for college. She added that her son wanted her to call him Sam, as he was getting older.
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The relationship specialist presents “In the Room with Dr. Laura Berman” on the OWN TV network.
Lucas Manfredi of Fox News contributed to this report