A man from Virginia was accused of second -degree murder after shooting a teenager who was shooting a joke for Tiktok known as “Ding Dong Ditch” with two friends around 3 in the morning of Saturday, according to the documents of the court and local authorities.
The SpotSylvania sheriff's sheriff's office responded to a relationship of a resident shooting during a theft with burglary and found two teenagers with gun wounds, the office declared in a note. One of the teenagers, Michael Bosworth Jr., 18 years old, died later from his wounds. The second person was treated for slight injuries and a third person in the group was unharmed, said the sheriff's office. The two friends of Mr. Bosworth were both less than 18 years old.
The teenagers had been in the neighborhood to make a video by Tiktok, one of them told investigators in a sworn declaration presented in SpotSylvania Circuit Court. A joke “Ding Dong Ditch” includes bells playing or knocking on the doors of the houses before running away and has become popular forage for videos on social media.
“The minor recommended that it is something that people are doing to wear Tiktok,” said the entrust.
The group had knocked on some doors in the area, one of the teenagers told a detective, adding that they were not familiar with the neighborhood. They were running away from a residence when they were hit, according to the sworn declaration. At least one video showing that the teenagers who made the joke were still on one of the phones of friends, said the entrust.
The authorities arrested Tyler Chase Butler, 27 years old from the county of SpotSylvania, Tuesday on charges of second degree murder, harmful wounds and use of a firearm in the commission of a crime, said the sheriff's office. He was detained in the regional prison of Rappahannck without ties, he said.
Mr. Bosworth was senior at the Massaponax High School in Fredericksburg, Virginia. The high school, which would have a degree for the elderly on May 13, sent a message to the school community that the consultants would have been available to help the students in mourning.
A spokesperson for the SpotSylvania sheriff's office, reached by phone, refused to comment further. A lawyer for Mr. Butler did not immediately respond to requests for comment. G. Ryan Mehaffey, Commonwealth lawyer for the county of SpotSylvania, refused to comment but said that a preliminary hearing had been scheduled for June 18.
This style of joke has led to the tragedy in the past. In 2020, a man in California crashed into a car of six teenagers, killing three of them, after making a similar joke about him. He was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2023.
Tuesday, a group of students met on the football field of the Massaponax High School to remember their classmate, according to a video shared by an Instagram account managed by school students. They shared the memories of Mr. Bosworth and wrote messages on the balloons before releasing them at sunset.
Jonathan Wolfe AND Michael Levenson Contributed relationships. Susan C. Beachy Research contribution.