Teen Killed in Virginia After Homeowner Opens Fire During TikTok Prank

Some teens in Virginia said they were making a TikTok video of a ding-dong ditch prank when a homeowner shot and killed an 18-year-old boy.

In the death of Michael Bosworth Jr., Tyler Chase Butler, the homeowner, was arrested and charged with second-degree murder, malicious wounding, and use of a firearm in the commission of a crime. Butler might have a lawyer, but it’s not clear.

Based on a news report, the shooting took place around 3 a.m. Saturday in Spotsylvania County. Deputies were sent to a home near McKenzie Lane in a neighbourhood of Washington, D.C., after a call about a burglary in progress at a home where someone had fired shots.

The sheriff’s office said that Bosworth and someone else were shot. Bosworth was hurt and taken to the hospital, but he died there. The other person, a minor, was handled and let go. Authorities say a third child who was with them was not hurt.

NBC Washington reported that Butler, who is 27 years old, told police that he thought the teens were trying to break into his house.

A search warrant document that NBC News obtained says that one of the teens told police that they were filming ding-dong ditch pranks for a TikTok video in which they ring people’s doorbells and then run away. And the teen said that they had only been to a few places in the area because he didn’t know it well.

“The child said they had run away to hide.” The teen said that he and his friends were shot at while they were running away from a house, the document says.

An affidavit says that the other teen told police a similar story and said that he had a video of them pulling the prank earlier that day on his phone.

Bosworth was in his last year of high school at Massaponax. He died a few hours before the school dance.

In a letter to the school community, the school board said, “School counsellors will be at the event to help as needed.” “When students go back to school on Monday, our counselling staff and other members of the division support team will be ready to help students and staff as needed.” We can help if you let us know that your child needs help by calling the school. During this hard time, our thoughts are with the family.

There is no release for Butler, who is being held in the Rappahannock Regional Jail.