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When I was growing up, playing pranks were a pretty normal part of everyday life, and not just at Halloween. While some pranks were relatively harmless – like calling a random number and asking if their refrigerator is running – others were potentially damaging and needed cleanup afterward – such as covering a home and yard with toilet paper, tossing an egg or two at a window or the “set fire to a bag of dog poo on the front porch, knock twice and run” gag.
Granted, they were stupid things to do. However, no kid ever expected that their life would come to an end because of it.
The Guardian reported that a 42-year-old man in Houston has been charged with murder after the fatal shooting of an 11-year-old boy who was playing a doorbell prank around 11 p.m. Aug. 30. Authorities said the boy and his friends were in their neighborhood reportedly playing a game of “ding dong ditch” – an old childhood prank that involves ringing a doorbell and running away before anyone answers.
KHOU 11 news reported that someone inside one of the homes came outside, opened fire and one of the boys was shot in the back. Julian Guzman, who was called “a little ladies man,” was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead – a young life over well before his time should have been up.
Leon Gonzalo Jr., a veteran of the U.S. Army, was arrested and charged with murder in the prank gone horribly wrong. Houston police Sgt. Michael Cass was quoted by KHOU as saying the shooting did not appear to be in self-defense, saying it “wasn’t close to the house” and Gonzalo stood near a stop sign while he was firing his weapon at kids who were running away.
My friends and I also played this game many moons ago, albeit under a more tasteless moniker. About the worst thing that ever happened to us was one tired fellow sighing while he yelled out, “I can see you hiding behind the car, dumbass, go home.” (So we did.)
I can also still remember when the front window of the old Long John Silvers restaurant on the four-lane in Murphy received a dozen eggs via flight in 1982. (I can also remember who threw the first and last eggs, but I’m no rat.) Yet, life is so much different today.
In recent years, the “ding dong ditch” prank, which has gained new popularity on social media, has resulted in other deadly tragedies:
u In 2023, a man in California was convicted of murder after intentionally ramming his car into six teenagers who had rung his doorbell. Three were killed.
u In May, a man in Virginia was charged with second-degree murder after fatally shooting a teenager who was filming a TikTok video of a doorbell prank at the man’s home around 3 a.m.
The best advice we can give our children today is to just say no. Laughter from a prank is not worth hearing the sounds from a funeral.
David Brown is publisher of the Cherokee Scout. Call him with comments and questions at 828-837-5122 or email dbrown@cherokeescout.com.