VIRGINIA, United States — An American teen was shot and killed in Spotsylvania County hours before his prom after allegedly attempting to film a “ding-dong ditch” prank for TikTok with friends on Saturday.
According to an NBC4 Washington report, Michael Bosworth Jr, an 18-year-old athlete of Massaponax High School in Fredericksburg, Virginia, along with two other friends, reportedly went to a home in Spotsylvania County intending to record the prank for a TikTok video, but a resident of the home opened fire on the teens.
Bosworth was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Another teen reportedly received a non-life-threatening injury during the incident when he was grazed by a bullet.
The homeowner, 27-year-old Tyler Chase Butler, an African American man, was subsequently arrested and charged with second-degree murder, malicious wounding and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, the report said.
Butler reportedly told the police that the teens were trying to break into his home. It was further confirmed that the sheriff’s office had received a call about a residential burglary in progress in which a resident had fired shots, NBC4 reported.
Bosworth was scheduled to attend his high school prom the same evening he was shot and killed. He played lacrosse, football and wrestled.
Ding-dong ditch pranks entail ringing doorbells and then running away.
Tyler Chase Butler (WJLA/Spotsylvania County Sheriff’s Office/CNN Newsource)