A 10-year-old Texas boy was shot and critically injured while allegedly attempting a door-knocking prank on a neighbor, police said.
According to Shay Awosiyan, a Houston Police Department spokesman, the shooting occurred around 10:55 p.m. on Saturday at a home on Membrough Street in southeast Houston.
“A 10-year-old was apparently knocking on neighbors’ doors and running away when someone apparently fired shots,” Awosiyan told the newspaper.
Awosiyan stated that one person was detained at the scene of the shooting and is being questioned, but no charges have been filed.
The injured child, who was out pranking with friends, was treated at the scene by the Houston Fire Department before being transported to a nearby hospital, where he was in critical condition on Sunday afternoon, according to Awosiyan.
The investigation continued on Sunday, but police provided no additional information.
The alleged prank in Houston is similar to the “Door Kicking Challenge,” a national trend based on an old prank known as “Ding Dong Ditch,” in which groups of kids record videos of themselves kicking and banging on doors of homes and apartments before fleeing and posting the videos on social media platforms such as TikTok.
A 58-year-old Texas homeowner was arrested and charged with aggravated assault in July after allegedly firing multiple rounds at a vehicle fleeing his Frisco home after someone knocked on the front door, according to a Frisco Police Department statement.
According to police, the driver and two passengers of the car that was shot around 10:50 p.m. on July 28 contacted police to file a complaint, showing officers three bullet holes in the vehicle.
“However, during subsequent interviews, all admitted to ding, dong, ditching in a random neighborhood when they were confronted by a male with a firearm,” a statement from the Frisco Police Department read.
In June, police in Chandler, Arizona, released video footage of a group of juveniles committing the “Door Kicking Challenge,” alleging that the group pulled the prank on the same home at least 18 times, forcing the homeowner to move out.
“Let’s be clear: These ‘pranks’ can have serious consequences and lead to charges such as criminal damage, disorderly conduct, or harassment,” the Chandler Police Department wrote in a message to parents in the area. “Parents, please take a moment to speak with your children. Understand where they are, who they are with, and what they are doing.
Police in Fort Worth, Texas, issued a similar community message in May after receiving more than 20 reports of young people engaging in the “Door Kicking Challenge.”
“It can be misinterpreted as an attempted break-in, potentially prompting dangerous or defensive responses from homeowners…,” the Fort Worth Police Department said in a statement. “What may seem like a prank can result in very real trouble and/or danger.”
