Teen Shot and Killed by Homeowner While Filming 'Ding Dong Ditch' TikTok Prank at 3 AM: Police

News By TooFab Staff |
Spotsylvania Sheriff's Office

The surviving teens told police they were filming prank videos for TikTok, but the homeowner says he thought he was dealing with a home invasion.

A homeowner is behind bars and a teen is dead after a prank mistaken for a break-in resulted in shots fired at 3 a.m. in Spotsylvania County, Virginia on May 3.

The tragedy unfolded on the property of Tyler Chase Butler, 27, who is now facing charges of second-degree murder, malicious wounding, and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony.

The victim is Michael Bosworth Jr., 18, a wrestler, lacrosse and football player in his senior year at Massaponax High School, who was reportedly out playing what he and his friends thought were harmless pranks for social media.

Butler thought they were trying to break into his house when he encountered the teens in his yard. Police reported receiving a call of a burglary in progress and shots fired.

According to the police report, the caller said three people had tried to kick down a door, per court records reviewed by The Washington Post.

But the teens insist there was no burglary attempt. After police arrived, the two surviving boys explained that they were filming "ding dong ditch" prank videos in the neighborhood, sharing footage from an earlier prank.

After learning more about the TikTok "Ding Dong Ditch Challenge" -- where one rings a doorbell or knocks on a door and then runs away -- and obtaining a search warrant for the teens' phones for more video footage, officers returned on May 6 and arrested Butler, per a release from the Spotsylvania Sheriff's Office.

According to the surviving teens, they were running away from the house to hide when Butler opened fire. Bosworth was shot in the torso, according to the police report, and died later at a nearby hospital.

His high school prom was scheduled for that night. "You were the best boyfriend, person, brother, son and friend that anyone could ask for," said his girlfriend, Malinda Garcia, in an Instagram post shared with the Post.

In it, she was wearing the pink bowtie he had planned to wear to the dance. "I’m so glad I got to share my life with you and learn to love you and cheer you on through everything because you are one of a kind," she concluded her message.

A second teen was also shot and wounded, but was treated and released. The third high schooler was unharmed in the incident.

Butler is being held in Rappahannock Regional Jail on no bond, per NBC News.