TikTok Challenge Leaves One Teen Dead Another Wounded and the Target of the Prank Charged With Murder – Twitchy

TikTok’s future in the United States is still uncertain as the Trump Administration tries to find an investor that Congress will find an acceptable option to ensure the protection of users’ private information from the communist Chinese government.

Before the security controversy, the embattled social media giant was best known for its’ stupid human tricks. Users, mostly teens, upload videos of themselves performing idiotic stunts known as ‘TikTok Challenges’, hoping to go viral. Eating Tide Pods, trying to swallow spoonfuls of cinnamon, or sticking metal objects into the charging port of a laptop are just a few of the ways teenagers use TikTok to make idiots of themselves for clicks and internet fame.

The problem with the quest for TikTok stardom is making the next challenge better (read more obnoxious) than the last. Kids are increasingly doing more ridiculous and, in many cases, dangerous Stunts. Recently in Virginia, a TikTok challenge left a teen dead, another injured, and a homeowner facing murder charges, when the ‘Ding-Dong Ditch Challenge’ went horribly wrong.

It is awful that a teenager died as a result of this and I wish it had ended differently. Also, the shooter was at his home when 3 grown-looking people kicked his door at 3 am in what many reports term an “attempted burglary” and the teenagers term a TikTok prank. The shooter is…

— Mary Katharine Ham (@mkhammer) May 9, 2025

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The shooter is charged with murder and held w/o bail, and maybe the evidence shows the teens were fleeing or there’s another exacerbating factor. But my Lord, it is a lot to ask of a man to assume they were not there to hurt him at 3 am and simply stand down. Saying it’s a prank does not change how a person perceives it in his home at 3 am. Do not do this to people and put everyone in this terrible position.

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The ‘Ding-Dong Ditch Challenge’ is a variation of the childhood prank of the same name. Instead of ringing a doorbell and running away, the door is kicked or hit hard to make it seem as if someone is trying to break into the house forcibly, and then hiding to record the resident’s reaction.

On Saturday, May 3rd, at 3:00 am, the resident opened fire, killing one of the pranksters.

Local CBS affiliate WUSA9 reported the tragic event.

FREDERICKSBURG, Va. — The man accused of shooting and killing a Massaponax High School student during a possible TikTok challenge is ordered to remain in jail without bond.

Tyler Butler, 27, was also issued a public defender at his arraignment hearing on Monday, one day after the Spotsylvania County Sheriff’s Office charged him with second-degree murder, malicious wounding, and firearms offenses.

Butler called police to report what he believed was an attempted burglary.

On May 3, the sheriff’s office said Butler reported that he fired shots because there was a burglary in progress at his home on McKenzie Lane in Fredericksburg at around 3 a.m. Michael Bosworth, 18, was shot and later died at the hospital. One of the two other teenagers with Bosworth that night was also shot but survived, according to authorities.

Court documents revealed a different story. The two teenagers told detectives that they were in the neighborhood to play a TikTok prank known as the “Ding Dong Ditch” challenge. The prank is when kids try to kick a stranger’s front door and run away.

“The juvenile stated he and his friends had hit a couple of doors in the neighborhood,” the court document read. “The juvenile is not familiar with the neighborhood that they were in. The juvenile stated that they had run to hide. The juvenile said as they were running from a residence, he and his friends were shot at.”

Search warrants showed detectives both of the teenagers’ iPhones to obtain videos and pictures related to the TikTok challenge.

Details of the investigation have not been released. Butler is being held without bond and faces several charges, including second-degree murder.

I’m always open to the idea that a story evolves and there’s evidence I don’t know about, but sure seems like this guy should be given lenience at the very least for this fog-of-war situation.

— Mary Katharine Ham (@mkhammer) May 9, 2025

The family and friends of Bosworth are demanding justice. Still, others believe that the teen’s prank, which intentionally made it seem as if there was a robbery or home invasion, justifies Butler’s actions.

Kicking in a door at 3 AM is exactly what it sounds like. It’s not a prank. But the guys aren’t going to admit that they were committing a felony. The only thing that’s sad about this is that the shooter didn’t wait until they’d broken open the door and crossed the threshold.…

— Javin007 (@Javin008) May 10, 2025

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The only thing that’s sad about this is that the shooter didn’t wait until they’d broken open the door and crossed the threshold. He’s going to jail because he was stupid.

Virginia does not have a ‘Castle Doctrine’ style self-defence law. Where the teens were in relation to the homeowner’s property when they were shot may play a significant role in the outcome of this case.

It is legally irrelevant what the kids breaking into the house thought. It is only relevant what the person living in the house, and any “reasonable man” living in such a house, would have thought. And he had every reason to believe he was in danger.

Now, we ought to wait to…

— Tom Kratman (@TKratman) May 10, 2025

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Now, we ought to wait to see if there’s more to the story.  But if there isn’t, he must be let walk.

The surviving teens told police they were running to hide when they were shot. If true, it may be the reason Butler was charged.

Probably because when you shoot people in the back that means they were running away. And then it’s not self defense.

— Billy Bragg chan (@babyYaga4) May 10, 2025

Except the teens were literally running away from the property when shot – the police have their cell phone footage “The juvenile stated that they had run to hide. The juvenile said as they were running from a residence, he and his friends were shot at” pic.twitter.com/a7iOSJzlwN

— DC United (@FrenettMarco) May 9, 2025

Many believe that even if the evidence shows Butler’s actions to be technically illegal, he deserves leniency because of the circumstances.

He probably has to be charged because it’s not self-defense if the threat had ended. But if I was on the jury there’d be no conviction. Hopefully he gets a good jury.

— Mostly Peaceful Cat (@MaxPaxCat) May 9, 2025

The homeowner should walk. He reacted as any sane man would.

— Joseph (@_Semper_Virilis) May 10, 2025

It’s ridiculous the home owner is charged with murder

— Trish “the Plate” (@TrishtheSkeptic) May 9, 2025

Maybe saving TikTok is a bad idea?

They literally *said* they were running away, correct. I have not seen the footage and you have not either, though some reports suggest it portrays them violently kicking and punching several doors in the neighborhood, which again is extremely dangerous.

— Mary Katharine Ham (@mkhammer) May 9, 2025

Three high school students played a perilous game, and one paid the ultimate price. The target of the prank faces the possibility of spending years in prison. All for the potential to get some clicks on TikTok.

If teens want to act stupid online, they should stick to Tide Pods and Cinnamon.

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