An 11-year-old boy was pronounced dead at a hospital on Sunday after being shot while running from a home after ringing the doorbell Saturday night, according to Houston city officials.
The boy had been ringing doorbells in the area and running as part of a game called “doorbell ditch,” according to a city statement.
“A witness stated the male was running from a house, after ringing the doorbell, just prior to suffering a gunshot wound,” the newspaper reported.
Officers responding to the shooting in the 9700 block of Racine Street released a person who had been detained for questioning, according to the city.
The shooting was reported about an hour before midnight, and the boy was rushed to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead Sunday, according to the city.
According to Houston NBC affiliate KPRC, more than one child was playing the game when the shooting occurred, and the victim was initially hospitalized in critical condition.
“We should not have guns around children, period. “Because a bullet has no name,” neighbor Theresa Jones told the station.
An 18-year-old man was fatally shot in Virginia this spring while participating in ding-dong ditch pranks being recorded for TikTok videos, according to the Spotsylvania County Sheriff’s Office. The arrested homeowner stated that he believed there was a break-in at his home.
In California, a 45-year-old man who ran down a group of ding-dong ditch pranksters while both were in vehicles, killing three teenagers, was sentenced to life in prison in 2023.
The city of Houston stated that the investigation into the shooting is still ongoing.
