A man from Virginia has been accused of second -degree murder after he had a teenager deadly shot who was filming a joke for Tiktok, known as “Ding Dong Dittch” with two friends around 3 o'clock on Saturday, according to Court Records and local authorities.
The Sheriff's Office of Spotsylvania responded to a report from a resident shot during a burglary and found two teenagers with shot wounds, the office said in a statement. One of the teenagers, Michael Bosworth Jr., 18, later died of his wounds. The second person was treated for minor injuries and a third person in the group was unharmed, said the Sheriff office. The two friends with Mr. Bosworth were both younger than 18.
The teenagers had been around to make a tap video, one of them told the researchers in a statement submitted in the Circuit Court of Spotsylvania. A “Ding Dong Dittch” joke includes ringing doorbell or knocking on the front doors of houses before you walk away, and has become popular food for videos on social media.
“The young person advised that it is something that people do to set up TIKTOK,” said the statement.
The group had hit a few doors in the area, one of the teenagers told a detective and added that they were not familiar with the neighborhood. They ran away from a house when they were shot, according to the statement. At least one video that the teenagers showed the joke was still on one of the phones of the friends, the explanation said.
The authorities arrested Tyler Chase Butler, 27, from Spotsylvania County, on Tuesday on accusation of second -degree murder, malicious injury and use of a firearm in committing a crime, said the Sheriff office. He was held in Rappahannock Regional Jail without a band, said it.
Mr. Bosworth was a senior at Massaponax High School in Fredericksburg, va. The high school, which would graduate on 13 May on 13 May, sent a message to the school community that Counselors would be available to mourn students.
A spokesperson for the Spotsylvania Sheriff office, reached by telephone, refused to comment further. A lawyer for Mr Butler did not immediately respond to requests for comments. G. Ryan Mehaffey, the lawyer of the Commonwealth for Spotsylvania County, refused to comment, but said that a provisional hearing was planned for June 18.
This prank style has led to tragedy in the past. In 2020, a man in California crashed against a car of six teenagers, killing three of them, after they had played a similar joke for him. He was convicted of life in prison in 2023.
On Tuesday, a group of students gathered at the football field at Massaponax High School to remember their classmate, according to a video shared by an Instagram account of students from the school. They shared memories about Mr. Bosworth and wrote messages on balloons before releasing them at sunset.
Jonathan Wolfe And Michael Levendon contributed reporting. Susan C. Beachy contributed research.
