Boy fatally shot after ‘ding dong ditch’ doorbell-ringing prank, police say
IT ALSO DEMONSTRATES A PATTERN OF BEHAVIOR THAT SUSPECT OFTEN KNOCKING ON THE DOOR, RINGING THE DOORBELL TO MAKE SURE NO ONE’S HOME BEFORE A BREAK-IN OCCURS. WITH THE LATEST HAPPENING HERE. JUST TWO DAYS AGO. IT’S JUST AN UNFORTUNATE SET OF CIRCUMSTANCES WHERE, YOU KNOW, SOMEONE FELT THAT THEY NEEDED TO DO THIS. A SLEW OF BURGLARIES SWEEPING THE STREETS OF MOUNT WASHINGTON. SIX REPORTED SINCE JULY 30TH, ALONG WITH SEVERAL ATTEMPTED BREAK INS. THIS METRO CRIME STOPPERS POSTER SHOWS A SUSPECT. IT FEATURES A $2,000 REWARD FOR INFORMATION IN SURVEILLANCE VIDEO SHARED WITH 11 NEWS. THE PERSON HAS BEEN SEEN DRIVING PAST HOMES MULTIPLE TIMES, THEN RINGING THE DOORBELL. IN SOME CASES, WINDOWS AND DOORS HAVE THEN BEEN BROKEN INTO. THE SUSPECT STEALING VALUABLE ITEMS. NOW, COUNCIL MEMBER YITZY SCHLEIFER WANTS TO SEE FACIAL RECOGNITION TECHNOLOGY USED TO DETERMINE WHO THIS IS. WE WANT THE SUSPECT APPREHENDED, AND AND THAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED ALREADY IF WE WERE ABLE TO UTILIZE ALL THE TOOLS IN OUR TOOL KIT BECAUSE WE DO HAVE CLEAR PICTURES OF THE SUSPECT DUE TO MARYLAND’S CURRENT LAW, BPD IS UNABLE TO USE THE TECHNOLOGY AT THIS POINT. IN THE CASE PASSED IN 2024, THE LAW LIMITS THE USE TO INVESTIGATIONS OF CERTAIN CRIMES, INCLUDING THOSE THAT ARE VIOLENT. THAT LIST OF 12 CRIMES DOES INCLUDE CRIMES OF VIOLENCE, WHICH IN AND OF ITSELF INCLUDES 26 CRIMES, ONE OF WHICH IS FIRST DEGREE BURGLARY. SENATOR CHARLES SYDNOR WORKED ON THE LAW. HE SAYS RESTRICTIONS ARE IN PLACE TO PROTECT PEOPLE FROM MISUSE AND DISCRIMINATION. WE’VE PUT SOME PARAMETERS AROUND HOW IT CAN BE USED TO ENSURE THAT PEOPLE STILL FEEL COMFORTABLE AND NOT SURVEILLED WHEN THEY’RE EXERCISING THEIR FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHTS. COUNCIL MEMBER SCHLEIFER TELLS ME TODAY, POLICE HAVE BEEN TRACKING THE SUSPECT ACROSS THE CITY FOR MONTHS, BUT WITH THIS MOST RECENT ACTIVITY HERE IN MOUNT WASHINGTON, NORTHWEST BALTIMORE AREA, THEY ARE INCREASING THE POLICE PRESENCE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD. OF COURSE, IF YOU KNOW ANYTHING, LOOK AT THAT POSTER. IF YOU RECOGNIZE THAT PERSON, YOU SHOULD CALL POLICE. FOR NOW, LIVE I
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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.The boy had been ringing doorbells as a prank late Saturday evening, the Houston Police Department said in a statement. Commonly referred to as “ding dong ditching,” the prank involves fleeing before someone inside the home opens the door.Video above: Councilman wants facial recognition to determine suspect; here’s why it isn’t allowedThe boy, who has not yet been identified, died of his wounds Sunday, police said.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.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 by intentionally ramming their car after they rang his doorbell as a prank.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 filming a TikTok video of the prank, the New York Times reported.
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.
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The boy had been ringing doorbells as a prank late Saturday evening, the Houston Police Department said in a statement. Commonly referred to as “ding dong ditching,” the prank involves fleeing before someone inside the home opens the door.
Video above: Councilman wants facial recognition to determine suspect; here’s why it isn’t allowed
The boy, who has not yet been identified, died of his wounds Sunday, police said.
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.
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 by intentionally ramming their car after they rang his doorbell as a prank.
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 filming a TikTok video of the prank, the New York Times reported.
