Man Charged with Murder after Shooting 11-Year-Old Boy Playing “Ding Dong Ditch” Prank
HOUSTON — A tragic incident unfolded in Houston, Texas, as a 11-year-old boy lost his life while playing the innocent game of “ding dong ditch”. The 42-year-old man responsible for the shooting, Gonzalo Leon Jr, has now been charged with murder.
Julian Guzman was partaking in the childhood prank of ringing doorbells and running away late Saturday night, when the situation took a deadly turn. The clock had just struck 23:00 local time when the unthinkable happened.
According to the Houston Police Department, Guzman was shot while fleeing from one of the houses he had targeted. The tragic event left the young boy critically wounded, and despite efforts to save him, he passed away the following day at a nearby hospital.
Eye-witnesses shared chilling accounts of the incident, with one recalling how the perpetrator emerged from his home and opened fire on the children playing harmless pranks on the street. The sheer horror of the moment was captured by Homicide Detective Sergeant Michael Cass.
“Sadly enough, one of the boys, who was 11 years old, was shot in the back,” Cass stated, emphasizing that the shooting appeared to be unprovoked and lacked any justification for self-defense.
Tragically, this is not the first time that a playful prank has led to a fatal outcome. Similar incidents have been reported across the country, with TikTok’s influence further fueling the dangerous trend of “ding dong ditch” pranks.
The consequences of such reckless actions are dire, as exemplified by the case of a Virginia man facing murder charges for shooting a teenager playing the game, and a California man convicted of killing three teenagers in a similar scenario.
