Tyler Chase Butler, Fredericksburg, Virginia homeowner shoots teen, Michael Bosworth Jr dead in TikTok prank gone wrong.
When a prank goes horribly wrong.… A Virginia homeowner allegedly shot and killed a teenager after he and his two friends banged on the shooter’s door as they recorded a prank for a TikTok video.
Tyler Chase Butler, 27, allegedly gunned down 18-year-old high school senior Michael Bosworth Jr. along with injuring one of his friends during what police initially reported was an attempted burglary on a residential block in Fredericksburg around 3 a.m., the Spotsylvania County Sheriff’s Office said.
Butler told detectives that the teens were trying to break into his house, but the wounded teenager told police that they were only recording a prank, which involved the teens knocking on a random door and then fleeing, that would later be shared on TikTok according to arrest documents.
The boy, who suffered a graze wound, said the group were not looking to break into the man’s house and being hit by gunfire as they sought to hide, the Fredericksburg Free Lance Star reported.
The third teen, who was not harmed, also reportedly told police they were playing ‘ding dong ditch’ – which involves knocking or ringing a front door and then making a run for it, NBC 4 Washington reported.
The un-named teen offered their phone to cops to show a similar video shot earlier that night.
Bosworth was a Massaponax High School senior who played lacrosse and football and was also on the wrestling team, his stepfather told NBC4.
The victim was gunned down the same day as his high school prom — which was scheduled later that evening.
Butler is facing charges of second-degree murder, malicious wounding and two counts of use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, the sheriff’s office said.
The homeowner remains held at Rappahannock Regional Jail on no bond.
