A 42-year-old man has been charged with murder after allegedly shooting and killing an 11-year-old boy in Houston during a “ding dong ditch” prank late Saturday night. The incident marks yet another deadly outcome linked to the viral social media trend.
According to Harris County court records, Leon Gonzalo Jr. was taken into custody Tuesday morning. His listed residence corresponds with the home where the fatal shooting occurred. Police said the child, along with friends, had been ringing doorbells in the neighborhood and running away. A witness reported seeing the boy fleeing Gonzalo’s house when he was struck by gunfire.
“The male was ringing doorbells of homes in the area and running away,” Houston police noted. “A witness stated the male was running from a house, after ringing the doorbell, just prior to suffering a gunshot wound.”
Investigators emphasized that the shooting did not appear to involve self-defense, as the child was not near the home at the time. “This wasn’t close to the house,” said Sgt. Michael Cass of the Houston Police Department’s homicide division. The boy’s name has not yet been released.
Gonzalo Jr. is expected to make his first court appearance Tuesday.
The prank known as “ding dong ditch,” in which individuals knock or ring doorbells before running away, has long been a mischievous game but has recently been revived on TikTok, often with more aggressive variations like pounding or kicking doors.
Tragically, this isn’t the first fatal incident linked to the trend. In May, an 18-year-old high school student in Virginia was shot dead while recording a “ding dong ditch” video for TikTok. The shooter in that case was charged with second-degree murder. In another case in 2020, three teenagers in California lost their lives when a man intentionally rammed their car in retaliation for the prank; he was later convicted on three counts of murder and sentenced to life without parole in 2023.
In Houston, police said the 11-year-old and his friends were playing the game on Racine Street around 11 p.m. Saturday when Gonzalo allegedly opened fire. The boy was rushed to a hospital but succumbed to his injuries the following day.
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