'Ding-dong ditch' goes sideways yet again as teen gets shot amid popular prank, officials say

Once again, the popular "ding-dong ditch" prank — in which young people bang on front doors of homes, typically late at night, and run away — has ended with a teenager getting shot.

Sheriff Mike McCormick of Garland County, Arkansas, said a 16-year-old male suffered a gunshot wound during a reported "ding-dong ditch" prank in the area of Marion Anderson Road on Feb. 27.

'Trespassing, terrorizing, and damaging property.'

The sheriff said the 911 Communications Center late in the evening received multiple complaints of vehicles in the area with subjects wearing hoods and masks who were kicking and hitting residential doors.

While patrol deputies were performing an initial investigation, officials said they received another report about a subject who suffered a gunshot wound and was at a local hospital.

Sheriff's office investigators responded in order to collect surveillance, witness statements, and related evidence, officials said, and they determined that reports of subjects kicking and hitting residential doors and the shooting were related incidents.

Officials indeed said the subjects were engaging in the "ding-dong ditch" prank.

RELATED: 'Ding-dong ditch' prank ends with homeowner firing multiple rounds at car — and juvenile passenger getting shot, cops say

The sheriff's office said the identities of those involved "will not be released at this time. This is an active investigation."

A KATV-TV video report shared security camera clips from several homes in the neighborhood stemming from the incident; the station said the prank was under way around 11 p.m.

The station said "in camera footage from one residence in that area, you can see a hooded and masked individual getting out of a black pickup truck, running through the front yard of the residence and up the walkway, slamming his fist on the door, and then running off."

More from KATV:

The video then shows the individual getting back into the truck and accelerating quickly, with another black truck and a white car following behind him.

Those same vehicles are shown in this camera footage from another residence in the area.

The same masked individual — who is running in flip-flops — launches his body into the home's garage door, setting off what sounds like an alarm before running back into the truck and speeding off.

The station reported that one of the homeowners said the incident didn't resemble similar pranks she knew of growing up. In fact, KATV said she characterized the behavior as "trespassing, terrorizing, and damaging property."

In January, North Carolina officials said a "ding-dong ditch" prank ended with a homeowner firing multiple rounds at a car — and a juvenile passenger was shot.

Blaze News has reported on a number of additional related incidents — and some have been deadly:

• In 2025, a Texas homeowner fatally shot an 11-year-old playing "ding-dong ditch."
• Earlier in 2025, a Virginia homeowner was charged with murder after a high school senior was fatally shot amid what surviving teens say was a "ding-dong ditch" prank.
• Also in 2025, four juveniles most definitely choose the wrong house to prank with the "ding-dong ditch" game — given the homeowner reportedly ended up getting charged with six felonies, including first-degree robbery, two counts of armed criminal action, unlawful use of a weapon, and unlawful possession of a firearm.
• In 2024, a 30-year-old male used a handgun to shoot 14 rounds at teenagers playing a "ding-dong-ditch" prank — and he wounded one of them, police in Maine said.
• Also in 2024, police said an 85-year-old rammed a car into two teens who played a version of the "ding-dong ditch" prank on him in Canada.
• In 2023, a teen was hospitalized after a Delaware state trooper allegedly "beat the living hell" out of the boy over a "ding-dong-ditch" prank.
• Also in 2023, a California man was convicted of murdering three teenagers after a "ding-dong ditch" prank that included "mooning."
• And in 2021, a retired cop faced kidnapping charges over what he allegedly did to an 11-year-old who pulled a "ding-dong ditch" prank on him.

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