11-year-old shot dead while running away after ringing doorbell

 

 

P P Cherian

Houston: An 11-year-old boy was shot and killed while running away after ringing doorbell. The incident occurred while playing a game called 'doorbell ditch'. Police said the shooting occurred around 11 p.m. Saturday at a home in the 9700 block of Racine Street in Houston.

A witness said the boy was running away from home after ringing the doorbell when he was shot. The boy was immediately taken to the hospital but was pronounced dead on Sunday. One person was questioned in connection with the incident and released.

The children were playing the game in groups, NBC affiliate KPRC reported. Neighbor Teresa Jones told the station that children should not have guns around them because the bullets don't have names.

Similar incidents have been reported in the past. Last year, an 18-year-old was shot and killed in Virginia while filming ding-dong ditch pranks for TikTok. In 2023, a 45-year-old man in California was sentenced to life in prison for killing three teenagers by running over them with a car while they were playing a ding-dong ditch prank.

The investigation into the Houston shooting is ongoing.