On August 31st just before 11 pm, 11 year-old Julián Guzman was shot dead by 42-year old Gonzalo Leon Jr after playing a ding-dong ditch prank in Houston Texas. Leon was later arrested that same night but was brought back to his house the next morning on Sunday, but was detained again that same night and was charged for murder on Monday.
Before the incident, Julián was hanging out at a family member’s birthday party before eventually getting bored. That was when Julián and his cousin decided that it would be a good idea to go ding-dong ditching. The 2 boys have successfully tricked a few residents before they came across Leon’s two-story house. According to an article on CNN published by Danya Gainor, Holly Yan, “Julián reached for the doorbell, ready to run. After ringing the bell, the young boys took off, making it at least 20 feet away before the suspect walked to the edge of his property and two shots rang out — one finding its mark in Julián’s back”(Gainor,Yan, Sep 3). Julián’s cousin came back to help him and had the army drag him believing his legs were paralyzed. The cousin also mentioned that he saw Leon standing next to a stop sign in front of the house which was later confirmed by investigators.
According to an article on CNN published by Danya Gainor, Holly Yan, “Leon was deployed to Afghanistan from November 2014 to April 2015 and left the Army with the rank of specialist, Surridge said. As Julián ran from Leon’s home, he had no weapons, and there wasn’t any indication that he stole anything, Teare said. Despite this, investigators believe the suspect fired his gun twice, once in an “intentional, measured way” that struck the boy”(Gainor, Yan, Sep 3). The same day officers used a blaring vehicle PA system to demand Leon to come out of his house. After 20 minutes Leon was detailed by police that same night but the next morning on Sunday, officers brought him back to his house shortly before 6 am but was detained again that same night and was charged for murder on Monday and it was announced Tuesday.
As of recently ding-dong ditching pranks have become a popular thing to do as a social media trend. There are various videos on TikTok of people recording themselves banging on or kicking on peoples doors. According to a CNN news article by Karina Tsui, “In a Dallas suburb at the end of July, a man fired shots into a fleeing car after someone banged on his door,…In May, an 18-year-old high school senior in Virginia was shot and killed while filming a “ding dong ditch” to post on TikTok” (Tsui, Sep 1st).
There has been a rising concern as of recently about people playing the ding-dong ditch prank on other people. Authorities are warning people of the legal consequences they may face and the potential danger that they are putting themselves into. People need to stop and think about their actions before potentially ruining their futures for doing these trends because it’s all fun and games until someone at best gets charged with a felony or at worst gets killed.
