Cooper Noriega’s family members are remembering the late social media star followinghis tragic death.
The TikTok star’s father, Harold Noriega, broke his silence on Friday, sharing an emotional statement on hisFacebook.“Today has been an incredibly difficult time for my family and me. We lost our beautiful 19 year old Cooper last evening,” he wrote alongside a picture of his late son.
The grieving dad added, “Cooper has touched so many people. He recently started a chat on Discord which grew to thousands for those to have asafe place to talk about mental health. My boy was a believer and I know he is in the presence of God. Thank you everyone. I love you all.”
Cooperwas pronounced deadon Thursday, a Los Angeles Medical Examiner-Coroner spokesperson told PEOPLE.
His cause of death has been deferred, which “means that after an autopsy, a cause of death has not been determined and the medical examiner is requesting more investigation.”
“Once the tests/studies come back, the doctor evaluates the case again and makes the cause of death determination,” the spokesperson explained.
On Saturday, sister Parker Noriega shared a statement on Cooper’sInstagrampage.
“Hi everyone. on behalf of our family we want to thank you all for the kind words of our little coop,” Parker wrote. “His passing is an absolute tragedy to our family and loved ones.““We pray that we all as a community can continue on his legacy. He loved each and everyone of you,” Parker continued. “Please feel free to reach out to us as we love feeling all the support. Bless you all… with love, his sister.”
On the same day, his mom, Treva Noriega, alsowrote a heartfelt noteregarding her son’s death.
“My heart is forever broken but your my special angel and we have each other’s hearts..,” she shared. “I know my mom was holding her arms out bringing you to Heaven.”
Treva went on to express her gratitude for the support she received since her son’s passing.
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Days before his death, Noriega announced he had created a Discord server dedicated to discussing mental health.
“I’ve been struggling with addiction since I was 9 years old,” hewrotein a post shared on Instagram last week. “I would like to use the influence I’ve been given to create a space built on spreading awareness and normalizing talking about mental illness.”
“One of the many things I’ve learnt while struggling with addiction was that surrounding yourself will only bring you down,” he continued, adding that he hoped the server could “bring us all together and create a safe space where people can vent and help others through their tough times.”
If you or someone you know needs mental health help, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.
If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, please contact the SAMHSA helpline at 1-800-662-HELP.
source: people.com
