A dangerous social media prank is making a comeback across the country, and police say teenagers could end up getting seriously hurt — or even killed — as they target unsuspecting homeowners.
According to Fox News, authorities in California are sounding the alarm after a string of incidents linked to the so-called “Door Kick Challenge,” a trend where masked teens sprint toward a stranger’s home, slam their foot into the front door, and then flee before they can be caught.
The Elk Grove Police Department, serving a community about 15 miles south of Sacramento, reported at least eight cases in the past month alone. CBS News Sacramento said five juveniles have already been arrested.
Among those taken into custody were two 13-year-olds accused of causing more than $680 in damage to a resident’s front door. Three additional teens were arrested earlier in the month for similar acts of vandalism. In another case, a homeowner suffered $900 in damage — an amount that puts teens and their parents at risk of felony-level consequences if the total surpasses $950.
Residents say the prank is anything but harmless.
“Somebody could come out with a gun, and you could never know, these kids could be dead just for a stupid prank,” Ronnie Monroe told CBS13.
Monroe said pranksters kicked in his garage door twice in September, both times in the early morning hours.
“You can’t catch them if you can’t see them,” he said. “They get on electric bikes, and they are gone.”
In Florida, homeowners have reported similar incidents. On July 22, a teenager in Belleville was recorded kicking a front door so hard it caused roughly $500 in damage. A week earlier, homeowner Kevin Jasper experienced the same scare.
“We heard a big bang on the front door,” Jasper told FOX35. “We didn’t know what it was. We were like, ‘What the heck is going on? Is somebody trying to break in?’”
In Volusia County, two teens were arrested and charged with felonies after being caught on camera kicking a neighbor’s door. In another case, five juveniles allegedly kicked a Florida home’s entryway before firing an Airsoft gun and running off.
Law enforcement agencies nationwide say the risk of violent escalation is real — especially in states with expansive self-defense laws.
“Imagine being in your home at 2 in the morning, and you are getting these kicking sounds,” Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood told FOX35. “And in Florida, under the ‘stand your ground’ law, you are coming out with your gun. Somebody is going to get killed — this isn’t funny.”
