TikTok star Cooper Noriega, who was found dead in a Los Angeles parking lot in June at the age of 19, died of an accidental drug overdose, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner.
Noriega's cause of death was the combined effects of alprazolam, fentanyl and lorazepam, according to the medical examiner. Noriega's recent clonazepam use was also listed as a "significant condition."
Alprazolam, lorazepam and clonazepam are all benzodiazepines often used to treat anxiety and sleep disorders.
Noriega's manner of death was an accident, according to the medical examiner, who also confirmed that his place of death was a parking lot.
Just hours before Noriega was found dead, he shared a since-deleted TikTok video that said, "who else b thinking they gon d!€ young af."
Noriega, who has 3.2 million followers on the app, had been open with his struggles with mental health. He said in an Instagram post he had struggled with addiction since he was 9 years old, and that he wanted to use his platform for "spreading awareness and normalizing talking about mental illness."
In the days before his death, Noriega announced plans to start a group on the messaging platform Discord for his followers to discuss their experiences with mental health.
"I have just created a Discord server strictly for mental health because how much I love you guys, and how much I struggle with it myself," he said in a TikTok. "So I want you guys to not be alone and feel safe, and I have a bunch of that coming soon."
The Discord server, "Coop's Advice," is still active, and Noriega's family launched the Coop's Advice Foundation, an organization that "aims to become a leader in the movement to rethink how our society understands and addresses mental health and addiction, especially among members of Gen Z," after his death.
In an Instagram post last month, the foundation said it was "currently in discussions with a national therapeutic association to provide grants for free individual therapy to those in need," and was planning Discord sessions with medical professionals on the topics of mental health and addiction in 2023.
Drug overdose deaths in teenagers ages 14 to 18 almost doubled between 2019 and 2020, and they went up another 20% in the first half of 2021, NBC News reported. The increase was driven primarily by fentanyl.
The Drug Enforcement Administration has said nearly 25% of pills sold as OxyContin, Percorcet or Xanax on the black market are fake and can contain enough fentanyl to kill a person. The pills often look like authentic pills and can unknowingly contain fentanyl.
Experts recommend parents speak with their children about the dangers of fentanyl and to monitor their children's social media for signs of drug use.
At the time of Noriega's death, his family thanked his fans for their support and his father said there were "no words to describe the grief and loss."
"His passing is an absolute tragedy to our family and loved ones," his family wrote. "We pray that we all as a community can continue on his legacy."
