An 11-year-old boy was killed in Houston after being shot while playing a doorbell prank, police said. The incident is the latest tragic case connected to a TikTok trend that authorities have been warning parents about, and it could lead to a murder charge.
Police said the boy and his friends were playing “ding dong ditch” just before 11 p.m. Saturday when someone inside the house came out and opened fire.
A witness told officers the boy had rung the doorbell and was running away from the home on Racine Street when he was shot.
He was rushed to the hospital and pronounced dead on Sunday, according to police.
Authorities used a bullhorn to urge the suspect inside the home to surrender, CNN affiliate KTRK reported. One person was detained for questioning.
Officers later brought the person back in handcuffs early Sunday morning, KTRK reported. The individual was again detained Sunday night but has not been formally charged.
The Houston Police Department confirmed Monday the case is still under investigation. Detectives are reviewing surveillance video and working with the Harris County District Attorney’s Office to determine charges, according to CNN affiliate KHOU.
“It’ll more than likely be a murder charge,” Sgt. Michael Cass, a Houston homicide detective, told KHOU. He added the shooting does not appear to be self-defense because it “wasn’t close to the house.”
George Skinner, a longtime neighborhood resident, told CNN affiliate KPRC that the tragedy struck him deeply because he has a 10-year-old grandchild and other young relatives who play nearby.
“Me and a couple of my neighbors, we just were real sad that something like that actually happened to a child,” Skinner said. “Ten years old, you got a long ways to go.”
The prank known as “ding dong ditching” has been around for decades but has gained popularity again on TikTok, where users film themselves banging or kicking on doors before running away.
In July, a man in a Dallas suburb was arrested after firing shots into a car of pranksters, police said.
In May, an 18-year-old in Virginia was shot and killed while filming a prank for TikTok, The New York Times reported. The accused shooter was charged with second-degree murder.
In 2020, three teenagers were killed when a man rammed his car into theirs after they pranked him. He was later convicted of three counts of murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Police departments across the U.S. have warned about the risks of the challenge.
“What might seem like a prank can lead to serious legal trouble, property damage, or worse – someone getting hurt,” the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office in Indiana said in a Facebook post.
Sheriff Mike Chitwood of Volusia County, Florida, also warned teens after arresting two who kicked a resident’s door in July, CNN affiliate WESH reported.
“You’re endangering your future with this TikTok challenge,” Chitwood said. “You’re going to be charged with a felony.” The teens were charged with burglary, according to WESH.
