Snapchat responds after OWN host Dr. Laura Berman's son's death

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Snapchat responded Monday after OWN TV host Dr. Laura Berman’s son, 16, died from an apparent overdose over the weekend from drugs she said he obtained by using the popular app. 

“Our deepest sympathies are with the family and friends of Samuel Berman Chapman and we are heartbroken by his passing,” a company spokesperson said in a statement. “We are committed to working together with law enforcement 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 spokesperson said the company was “constantly improving” its capabilities to detect drug-related activity. 

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Dr. Laura Berman arrives at the 36th Annual Gracie Awards Gala on May 24, 2011, in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Valerie Macon/Getty Images)

Berman first shared the news of her son’s death on Instagram Sunday, writing how he overdosed in his room at the family’s home. Berman added that he got the drugs delivered to the house in an “experimentation gone bad.”

During an interview with NBC Nightly News on Monday night, Berman said she went into his room, and “he was on the floor. Gone.”

“My beautiful boy is gone. 16 years old. Sheltering at home,” she wrote on Instagram, along with a photo of her and her son hugging. “My heart is completely shattered and I am not sure how to keep breathing. I post this now only so that not one more kid dies.”

She said a drug dealer connected with her son on the app and he was given maybe Xanax laced with fentanyl, a synthetic opioid pain reliever, according to Fox 11 of Los Angeles. 

Berman warned other parents to “watch your kids and WATCH SNAPCHAT especially.”

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“A drug dealer connected with him on Snapchat and gave him fentinyl [sic] laced Xanax or Percocet (toxicology will tell) and he overdosed in his room. They do this because it hooks people even more and is good for business but It causes overdose and the kids don’t know what they are taking,” she wrote on Instagram.

Bill Bodner the DEA Special agent In Charge in Los Angeles told Fox 11 that what happened to Sammy is happening to other kids across the U.S.

He said counterfeit pills pushed on social media are made to look just like real Xanax or other types of drugs, but, they are typically fentanyl — which can be deadly.

“It’s something made in a filthy clandestine lab in Mexico. There’s no quality control. The dosing is extremely inconsistent. It only takes 2.5 mg of fentanyl to kill you,” Bodner told the station. 

Berman said that her son, who she calls Sammy, was a “Straight A student” and was getting ready for college. She added that her son wanted her to call him Sam, as he was getting older. 

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The relationship expert hosts “In the Bedroom with Dr. Laura Berman” on the OWN TV network.

Fox News’ Lucas Manfredi contributed to this report

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