by Sharelle B. McNair
September 3, 2025
Police departments across the nation have issued warnings to the general public about such pranks not being humorous however harmful and younger Julian’s loss of life proves it.
A Houston resident is dealing with homicide expenses after the deadly capturing of an 11-year-old boy who rang his doorbell and ran in a traditional “ding dong ditch” prank, Related Press studies.
Gonzalo Leon Jr., 42, was taken into custody on Sept. 2 and booked into the Harris County Jail after matching the title of the proprietor of the house the place the prank occurred. The incident happened Aug. 30 after the sufferer, Julian Guzman, and his cousin “turned bored” whereas attending a celebration.
The duo determined to ring doorbells, taking part in the “ding dong ditch” sport, the place youngsters ring a doorbell or knock on a door and take off earlier than somebody has an opportunity to open the door. Whereas an preliminary assertion from police claims the one who rang the doorbell was the cousin, the cousin instructed investigators that he and Guzman knocked on Leon’s door a number of occasions earlier than operating away.
It was on the ultimate knock that Leon appeared with a pistol and fired as soon as on the floor. Based on the affidavit, he then raised the firearm and fired on the minor victims. Guzman’s cousin instructed police that the sufferer “cried out in ache that he had been shot,” and as he tried to tug the boy away, Leon walked again into his house slowly.
Houston Police Sgt. Michael Cass stated, “Our witness says the suspect got here out of the door, ran out into the road, and was firing down the street.”
After being shot within the again, the kid succumbed to his accidents and died Aug. 31, in line with ABC 13 Houston.
Regulation enforcement discovered shut to twenty firearms, together with AR-style rifles, shotguns, and medium caliber pistols, in Leon’s house nearly half a block from the place Guzman collapsed. The spot has been reworked right into a memorial, that includes a cross, prayer candles, flowers, and photographs of the boy.
“I miss you, Julian. I nonetheless want you had been right here, however I’ll all the time love you 4ever,” one signal on the memorial stated.
Police departments across the nation have issued warnings to the general public about such pranks not being humorous however harmful, and younger Julian’s loss of life proves it. A Fb put up from the Georgetown, Kentucky, Police Division states that owners don’t have any method of understanding it’s “only a prank,” as a number of state legal guidelines give owners the appropriate to guard their property.
A white man in Florida was investigated for threatening to shoot a nine-year-old Black lady who was promoting sweet door-to-door, claiming he thought the kid was making an attempt to interrupt in. In Southern California, a person was convicted of first-degree homicide in 2023 for deliberately killing three teenage boys by ramming into their automotive following a doorbell prank.
Some states, together with Texas, have a model of the “citadel doctrine,” which states that residents don’t need to retreat once they really feel threatened of their houses; nonetheless, they will reply with bodily drive. The regulation within the Lone Star State offers individuals a broad vary to guard themselves, others, and property, however there have to be an inexpensive perception that drive is critical within the given scenario.
Houston legal professional Seth Kretzer stated if the capturing happened as police allege, there’s a minimal likelihood that Leon has a robust case for self-defense underneath state regulation. “You simply can’t shoot a child on the street lifeless as a result of he knocks in your doorbell and declare you felt threatened by him,” Ketzer stated.
“I imply, it’s a little bit onerous to consider a grown male with a gun felt threatened by an unarmed 11-year-old youngster operating away on the road.”
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