A 42-year-old man has been charged with murder after a “ding dong ditch” shooting left an 11-year-old Houston boy dead Saturday, the latest example of a TikTok trend that has led to the deaths of children.
Leon Gonzalo Jr. was booked into jail Tuesday morning, Harris County court records show. His address matches the address where someone fatally opened fire at the 11-year-old, whom a witness described as running away from the house when he was shot, according to police.
“Officers were told the male was ringing doorbells of homes in the area and running away,” police said. “A witness stated the male was running from a house, after ringing the doorbell, just prior to suffering a gunshot wound.”
The shooting did not seem to involve self-defense because the shooting “wasn’t close to the house,” Houston police homicide Sgt. Michael Cass said, according to CNN affiliate KHOU.
The boy’s name has not been publicly released.
Gonzalo Jr. is scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday.
“Ding dong ditching” is an age-old prank that’s risen in popularity in recent years as a social media challenge. TikTok videos often feature variations where pranksters pound on or kick people’s front doors.
In May, an 18-year-old high school senior in Virginia was shot and killed while filming a “ding dong ditch” to post on TikTok, The New York Times reported. The man accused of shooting the teen was charged with second-degree murder.
In 2020, three 16-year-olds were killed when a California man rammed his car into their vehicle in retaliation for a “ding dong ditch” prank. The man was convicted of three counts of murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in 2023.
In the Houston case, the boy and his friends were playing a game of “ding dong ditch” at a house down the street from their homes just before 11 p.m. Saturday when a person inside the house came out and shot the boy, Houston police said.
A witness said the boy was running from the house on Racine Street after ringing the doorbell when he was shot, police said.
The boy was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead on Sunday, police said.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
CNN’s Karina Tsui, Danya Gainor and David Williams contributed to this report.
