A Spotsylvania County, Virginia, homeowner is facing murder charges in the shooting death of a local high school student who was recording a “ding-dong-ditch” prank for TikTok.
Tyler Chase Butler, 27, has been charged with second-degree murder, malicious wounding, and two counts of using a firearm to commit a felony. He is being held in jail with no bond.
At around 3 a.m. on Saturday, the Spotsylvania County Sheriff’s Office got a call about an alleged residential burglary where the homeowner had fired shots.
They arrived at the Fredericksburg address and found Michael Bosworth Jr., 18, suffering from a gunshot wound to his torso. He died at a hospital.
They also found two juveniles — one with minor injuries from a gunshot wound, and another who was uninjured, SCSO said in a release. The injured juvenile was treated at the hospital and released.
The juveniles told authorities that the three were out in the middle of the night for a TikTok trend in which pranksters record themselves ringing a person’s doorbell and then fleeing the scene.
They also said that they had done the prank and other homes and had run away and were trying to hide when the gunfire started.
Mr. Bosworth was a football and lacrosse player and a senior at local Massaponax High School, according to the Fredericksburg Free Press.
The initial 911 call alleged that the three youths were trying to break into Mr. Butler’s home by kicking in his back door, SCSO Capt. Charles Carey told WJLA-TV.
In a letter to families, Massaponax High School Principal William Lancaster wrote that he was “saddened” and that “our thoughts are with the family during this difficult time,” according to WUSA-TV.
