After taking part in a very common childish prank, an 11-year-old school boy tragically lost his life in Texas, after being shot in the back as he tried to run away
A common prank that has delighted children across the world for decades turned deadly in Texas over the weekend.
An 11-year-old schoolboy, whose identity has not yet been made public, was taking part in a game of ‘ding dong dash’ with his friends in East Houston when the shooting occurred.
The child knocked on the door of a home on Racine Street around 11pm before running away when someone is alleged to have chased him and shot him in the back. The young boy had “a couple of gunshot wounds,” local police have said, and was quickly rushed to a nearby hospital in a critical condition.
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He was pronounced dead in hospital the following day, 31 August. The alleged shooter will not be able to argue self-defense, because the youngster “wasn’t close to the house” when he was shot, with Sergeant Michael Cass from the Houseton Police Department adding, “It’ll more than likely be a murder charge,” reports CNN.
Ding dong dash is such a common prank, and has been for a long time, that variations of the game, which sees children knock on someone’s door, ring the bell, or even kick the entryway, before running away as fast as possible, exist internationally.
In the UK, it’s often dubbed “knock and run” or “knock down ginger” amongst many other nicknames that can be found across the world.
However, the prank has taken on new life thanks to TikTok, which has seen the game become something of a trend, much to the chagrin of homeowners subjected to the nuisance door knocks.
The shooting in Texas is sadly not the first time the game has turned deadly. In May 2025, an 18-year-old was killed in Virginia whilst filming themselves doing the prank, with the shooter charged with second-degree murder.
Back in 2020, one man chased after three teenagers who had dashed after knocking on his door, and died when he rammed his car into their vehicle. He was sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of the three murders, and he was not given the possibility of parole.
Authorities across the US have tried to discourage children from taking part in the prank, pointing out that they could get in trouble for doing so, or that in the worst-case scenario, someone might even up hurt by the seemingly harmless game.
Two Florida teens were arrested and charged with burglary in July after kicking a neighbour’s door before running away, “That’s a good way to end up dead, especially in Florida,” Sheriff Mike Chitwood told local news at the time.
He added that youngsters considering taking part in the prank are “endangering your future with this TikTok challenge…You’re going to be charged with a felony.”