11-year-old boy fatally shot in Houston after 'ding dong ditch' doorbell-ringing prank, police say

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An 11-year-old boy was fatally shot in Houston after a prank in which he rang the doorbell of a home and ran away, police said Sunday.

The boy 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.

The boy, who has not yet been identified, died of his wounds Sunday, 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.

Other "ding dong ditch" pranks have turned deadly in the past. In 2023, a Southern California man was convicted on three counts of first-degree murder for killing three teenage boys by intentionally ramming their car after they rang his doorbell as a prank.

And in May, a Virginia man was charged with second-degree murder for fatally shooting an 18-year-old who had rung his doorbell while a filming a TikTok video of the prank, the New York Times reported.

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Brook is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.