Video shows teens kick doors in Maryland for social media trend

CBS News

6 days ago

A terrifying social media trend is sweeping through Maryland neighborhoods, one of which was captured on surveillance video.
Teens run up to doors and kick them in the middle of the night, causing neighbors to stir awake.
Two teens were arrested and charged in Anne Arundel County, while a Harford County neighborhood continues to see this trend, but no arrests have been made by police.
Candice Knight described the loud boom she heard early Monday morning while she and her son were asleep.
She ran down the stairs and tried to open her door, only to realize it was busted open by the teens. Her next-door neighbor was also hit, and the attack was caught on video.
"We hear, boom, boom, boom," Knight said. "They had kicked my door in and busted my whole door frame."
Out of fear, Knight hid her 12-year-old son in a closet and waited outside his door with a knife, fearing someone was trying to get inside. When the chaos was over, she found damage to her home.
"It was gut-wrenching. It was whoever comes through this door, I will die to protect him," Knight said.
Lisa Hazen's home was hit at the same time, and her doorbell camera caught the incident and the loud banging.
"They donkey kicked my door loudly. It was shocking to say the least. I have my grandchildren with me," Hazen said.
Neighbors say this is more than a silly prank or a ding-dong-ditch.
"That's [ding-dong-ditch] nothing compared to what they did. And what worries me is that some mother is going to lose their child," Hazen said.
Two teens are facing charges after police said they kicked in the door of a Maryland home in what could be associated with a TikTok challenge.
Anne Arundel County police responded to the 7900 block of Sutherland Court for a reported burglary around 3:15 a.m. Once on the scene, a homeowner told police that her door was kicked in, and her door frame was damaged.
The 14- and 15-year-old boys were found nearby, police said.
Shortly after, a second homeowner in the 3500 block of Old Crown Drive reported that the two teens had attempted to kick in their door.
Both teens were identified and charged, according to officers.
"How do you not know that your children aren't home at 3 am you play stupid games, you win stupid prizes," Knight said. "These children are going to lose their lives over something so stupid."
Kris and her husband Steve have lived in Fallston for two decades and have never seen or heard anything like the loud bangs on their door. They say it's happened nine times on three different nights.
"Two o'clock in the morning, bam, bam, bam, I shoot up out of bed. It sounds like a sledgehammer," Kris said.
She called the police when their front door was hit, but the kids got away with a slap on the wrist.
Kris says Harford County Sheriff's deputies came to her door twice and did a sweep of the neighborhood. If they found teens, they gave them a warning, according to the family.
The third time the door was hit, the family didn't even bother to call the police.
"I can tell you that you feel very threatened when it happens, like someone's coming to get us. It would be very helpful if the authorities would take a little more seriously, with the kids," Kris said.
Despite the Fallston family calling and working with the Harford County Sheriff's Office, the department tells WJZ no incidents have been reported to them.
While the crime may seem isolated, Justin Mulcahy, a spokesperson for the Anne Arundel County Police Department, believes it could be part of a nationwide TikTok trend.
"It's concerning all the way around," Mulcahy said. "We believe – based on how this was done – that this was potentially a door-kick challenge that's going on nationally."
According to Mulcahy, teens across the country are participating in the challenge where they kick in the doors of homes during early morning hours.
Mulcahy is urging parents to talk to their kids about the dangers of participating, saying the startling action could escalate into violence or tragedy. He emphasized that participants could face criminal charges or homeowners could take action.
"What may seem like a funny prank to a child is not," Mulcahy told WJZ. "And you're infringing on someone's right by being on their property."