Horror as boy, 11, killed by homeowner after door knocking prank turns deadly

By Lauran O'Toole, Senior Reporter

A boy was killed during a prank that went wrong in Houston, Texas (Image: Getty)

An 11-year-old has died after being shot by a homeowner during a door knocking prank that turned deadly. The boy was shot in Houston while he was running from a home after having rung its doorbell on Saturday night, city officials say.

He had been ringing doorbells as a prank late Saturday evening, the Houston Police Department said in a statement. Commonly referred to as “ding dong ditching,” the prank involves fleeing before someone inside the home opens the door. As the boy ran from a house on Racine Street just before 11pm someone chased after him and shot him in the back, according to KHOU.

The incident took place on Racine Street (Image: Google Maps)

The young boy, who has yet to be identified, sustained “a couple of gunshot wounds” and was rushed to a nearby hospital in critical condition.

He later died of his injuries, police said in an update Sunday. One person was detained at the scene for questioning and has since been released, police said.

Police spokesperson Shay Awosiyan said that officers were still investigating and had not arrested anybody in connection with the boy’s death as of Sunday evening.

Local resident Theresa Jones says the fatal incident proves that guns shouldn't be around children.

She said: "We shouldn't have guns around kids, period. Because a bullet doesn't have a name."

The prank has surged in popularity on TikTok and has led to other tragic incidents across the US in recent years.

Earlier this year, an 18-year-old man in Virginia was shot dead as he and other teens participated in ding-dong ditch pranks for TikTok, the Spotsylvania County Sheriff’s Office said in May.

The homeowner, who was arrested, said he believed a break-in was underway at his property.

Authorities across the country have sounded the alarm about the potential dangers and legal consquences involved in the door knocking challenge.

“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.”