Purge-style teen prank sweeping America that tricks victims into thinking their home is being invaded
A recent video of the purge-style incident, similar to the old-fashioned prank of ding-dong-ditch, showed a group of five Florida teens making their way toward a home in Riverview - about 20 minutes from Tampa - on Friday around 10.40pm.
Shocking Ring doorbell footage captured the moment one of the unidentified teens walked toward the house with a ski mask covering their face and an airsoft gun in hand before the juvenile kicked the front door and fired a plastic pellet before running away, Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister said.
In the clip, the teen was seen pointing the gun at the front door and firing it as several shots rang out. He then darted out onto the street with the rest of the group, laughing as they ran.
Chronister, who called the new trend the 'door kick challenge,' said the prank is making waves across TikTok and needs to stop immediately.
'Parents, please talk with your children about this dangerous trend, which could end in tragedy,' he wrote on X alongside the clip.
The sheriff has asked anyone with information on the suspects in the video to call the department.
This is just the latest incident, as two teenagers were slapped with felony burglary charges after they kicked another stranger's front door in the Sunshine State.
Jeffery Merthie, 15, and Zahmarii Reddick, 13, were arrested in DeBary, near Orlando, on July 6 after they kicked a neighbor's door in.
Merthie and Reddick were seen on doorbell footage sneaking up to the house, before slowly turning around with their backs to the door and kicking it several times before fleeing.
Bodycam footage later showed Merthie being placed in cuffs while he stood next to another teen, who was not identified. Both boys told Volusia Sheriff's deputies that they were leaving Reddick's house.
'Where's the girl?' another officer asked.
'We didn't do nothing, I promise you,' the unidentified teen told police.
'I promise you you did,' the officer, who was placing Merthie in cuffs, said. 'Not you, but he did.
'The camera is crystal clear [of] you running up on their front porch and you turn around and kick their front door in... The camera can not be no more clear,' the cop continued.
Merthie was picked up by police after they noticed his 'distinctive' shorts, which were multicolored.
When asked why they did it, Merthie told them they were 'just being dumb.'
'We weren't responsible, we won't do that no more,' he said.
Merthie tried to defend their actions, saying they just kicked the door, but the officer quickly pulled up photos of the broken door on his phone to show the teen.
The door had large chunks of splintered wood and the lock and doorknob was entirely busted off.
'That's completely broken in,' he said. 'You know those people could have shot you?'
Reddick was taken into custody after her mother allowed officers inside the home to search for the girl.
Argenis Ruiz, the homeowner who was targeted by the teens, described the terror his family faced that night.
'It was super super loud,' Ruiz told WESH. [I was] clueless. I was just asleep and I woke up startled and scared and just wanted to get my kid out of the way.
'Immediately, we checked our cameras.'
Although the prank left him fearful, Ruiz said he is grateful nobody was hurt as a result.
He also sent a message to the teens involved in this incident and any others who have participated in it or plan to.
'Be careful [and] be smart. Think about what you're doing. This stuff could affect your life and family members as well,' he told the outlet.
It is unclear if Merthie and Reddick will be charged as adults.
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