A young Texas boy died after playing a door-knocking prank on his neighbor who opened fire on him.
Police in Houston said the unidentified 11-year-old was playing ding-dong-ditch with his friends at 11pm on Saturday when the incident happened.
The game involves knocking on someone’s door or ringing their doorbell and then disappearing before they open the door.
At some point during the children’s prank, however, a neighbor came out of one of the homes and started shooting at the children as they ran away, KHOU reports.
The boy was struck in the back, and transported to a local hospital with multiple gunshot wounds. He was then pronounced dead on Sunday afternoon.
Cops were able to detain the person who allegedly opened fire after using a bullhorn and urging him to come out of the home with his hands up, according to ABC News.
Shortly before 6am on Sunday, officers were seen dropping the alleged shooter back off at his home.
Authorities have since explained that the shooter has not been arrested, and was just being questioned by homicide detectives on Sunday.
Police in Houston said the the unidentified 11-year-old was playing ding-dong-ditch with his friends at 11pm on Saturday when the incident happened
The unidentified shooter surrendered himself to authorities on Saturday night, but was returned to his home early Sunday morning
He has thus far only been described by Click 2 Houston as a middle-aged suspect.
When asked about potential charges, Houston Police Department Sgt. Michael Cass said the circumstances surrounding the shooting do not appear to support a self-defense claim.
He and other officers are working with the Harris County District Attorney’s Office on bringing possible charges against the suspect.
‘In my opinion, it does not look like any type of self-defense,’ Cass told KHOU. ‘It wasn’t close to the house, so it’ll more than likely be a murder charge.’
Authorities are now continuing to investigate the incident, and were seen on Sunday searching the alleged shooter’s home and neighborhood for any evidence.
They ultimately collected several rifles and handguns as evidence.
At the same time, officers are continuing to review surveillance footage from Saturday night, and are asking neighbors for any additional footage that could be used in the investigation.
But locals say they were left shocked by the fatal shooting.
Authorities were seen on Sunday searching the alleged shooter’s home and neighborhood for any evidence
Authorities say a neighbor eventually came out of one of the homes and started shooting at the children as they ran away
‘What harm could they have done? Playing with a doorbell? That’s the part that really kind of hurts the heart,’ one unidentified resident told KHOU.
‘For someone to shoot him in the back, they knew they were a kid. What’s the purpose of it.’
Theresa Jones also called the shooting ‘really sad’ as she argued that guns should not be around children, noting ‘a bullet doesn’t have a name.’
Yet another neighbor said the boy was being irresponsible. ‘You just don’t go knocking on people’s doors,’ the local said.
As a result of the shooting, Sgt. Cass said he is warning parents to ‘just be more cautious of the times we’re living in now.’
