Man arrested after 11-year-old Texas boy fatally shot during "ding dong ditch" doorbell-ringing prank, police say
A man has been arrested in the fatal shooting of an 11-year-old boy in Houston after a prank in which he rang the doorbell of a home and ran away, police said.
Gonzalo Leon Jr., 42, was taken into custody by a SWAT team early Tuesday, according to the Houston Police Department. He's currently being held in the Harris County jail on a murder charge.
What happened
The 11-year-old boy, along with a group of children, had been ringing doorbells as a prank late Saturday evening, the Houston PD said in a statement. Commonly referred to as "ding dong ditching," the prank involves fleeing before someone inside the home opens the door.
The boy, who was later identified as Julian Guzman, died of his wounds Sunday, police said.
Sgt. Michael Cass, a Houston homicide detective, told CBS News affiliate KHOU that a witness had recalled someone exiting the house that was pranked and "shooting at the kids running down the street."
Cass told KHOU that "unfortunately, sadly enough, one of the boys was shot in the back."
A man was detained at the home where the shooting happened and questioned by homicide detectives on Sunday, KHOU reported. However, Houston police later stated that the person was released after questioning. Police have not explicitly named whether it was Leon.
North Texas man faces charges for firing at teens after prank
In late July, 58-year-old Damon Wolfe, of Frisco, was arrested after firing a gun at a group of teenagers who attempted a "ding dong ditch" prank at his house, police said.
Wolfe called 911 and told dispatchers that he had shot at someone who tried to kick in his door, police said. Officers who responded to his home learned Wolfe had left his residence, walked into the street and fired multiple arounds at a passing car he believed was involved in the prank.
Based on the investigation, police said they found evidence to obtain an arrest warrant for Wolfe on three counts of aggravated assault.
"What started out as a prank, ding dong ditching a house, turned into something that could of potentially had deadly consequences," Frisco Police Chief David Shilson said.
Other deadly pranks
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.