TikTok and other social media platforms have made the age-old prank of ringing doorbells and running away popular. Photo: Brandon Klein/123 RF
By Karina Tsui and Danya Gainor, CNN
An 11-year-old has died after he was shot while playing a doorbell ditch prank in Houston, police say, the latest tragic example of a TikTok trend authorities have been warning parents about in a case that could yield a murder charge.
The boy and his friends were playing a game of "ding dong ditch" at a house down the street from their homes just before 11pm on Saturday (local time) when a person inside the house came out and shot the boy, Houston police said.
A witness said the boy was running from the house on Racine Street after ringing the doorbell when he was shot, police said.
The boy was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead on Sunday, according to police.
Authorities used a bullhorn outside the home on Saturday night to urge the person inside to come out with their hands up, CNN affiliate KTRK reported. Police detained one person for questioning.
Officers brought a person back to the home in handcuffs shortly before 6am on Sunday, according to KTRK.
Authorities said the person was detained again on Sunday night but was not formally charged, KTRK reported.
Houston Police are still actively investigating, the department told CNN on Monday.
Investigators are reviewing surveillance video and working with the Harris County District Attorney's Office on possible charges, CNN affiliate KHOU reported.
"It'll more than likely be a murder charge," Sergeant Michael Cass, a homicide detective with the Houston Police Department, told KHOU, noting the boy's death did not appear to involve self-defence because the shooting "wasn't close to the house".
George Skinner, a resident of the neighbourhood, told CNN affiliate KPRC the tragedy hit close to home for him because he has a 10-year-old grandchild and other young family members who often play in the area.
The 70-year-old said he had lived in the neighbourhood most of his life and had never seen anything like this happen before.
"Me and couple of my neighbours, we just were real sad that something like that actually happened to a child, you know?" he said. "Ten years old, you got a long ways to go."
"Ding dong ditching" is an age-old prank that's risen in popularity in recent years as a social media challenge.
TikTok videos often feature variations where pranksters pound on or kick people's front doors.
In a Dallas suburb at the end of July, a man fired shots into a fleeing car after someone banged on his door, according to police. The man was arrested on charges of aggravated assault.
In May, an 18-year-old high school senior in Virginia was shot and killed while filming a "ding dong ditch" to post on TikTok, The New York Times reported.
The man accused of shooting the teen was charged with second-degree murder.
In 2020, three 16-year-olds were killed when a man rammed his car into their vehicle in retaliation for pulling a "ding dong ditch" prank on him.
The man was convicted of three counts of murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, in 2023.
Authorities across the country have raised concerns about the door knock challenge, warning of both the potential danger and legal consequences for those involved.
"Think it's funny to bang on doors and run? Think again," the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office in Indiana wrote in a Facebook post in August.
"What might seem like a prank can lead to serious legal trouble, property damage, or worse - someone getting hurt."
"That's a good way to end up dead, especially in Florida," Sheriff Mike Chitwood of the Volusia County Sheriff's Office told CNN affiliate WESH in July after arresting a 13-year-old girl and a 15-year-old boy for kicking a resident's door one night.
The teens were captured on a doorbell camera creeping up to a family's home and kicking the door before running away, WESH reported. Authorities took two hours to find them.
"You're endangering your future with this TikTok challenge," Chitwood said. "You're going to be charged with a felony."
The two teens were charged with burglary, according to WESH.
- CNN
