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.<\/p>\n
The boy had been ringing doorbells as a prank late Saturday evening, the Houston Police Department said in a statement. Commonly referred to as \u201cding dong ditching,\u201d the prank involves fleeing before someone inside the home opens the door.<\/p>\n
The boy, who has not yet been identified, died of his wounds Sunday, police said.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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<\/a> by intentionally ramming their car after they rang his doorbell as a prank.<\/p>\n 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<\/a>.<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n