Prosecutor: 5 juveniles in custody for banging on home’s door, kicking it down
GREENWOOD, Ind. (WISH) — Five juveniles were taken into custody for what the Johnson County prosecutor called “knucklehead behavior” that must stop before it leads to serious consequences.
On Feb. 27, five juveniles performed the “TikTok Door Kick Challenge,” the prosecutor said in a news release issued Wednesday. Essentially, people bang on the door to someone’s home before kicking it down. TikTok is a video service popular with teens and young adults.
The five juveniles performed the challenge “on a stranger’s door in the middle of the night”in the Kensington Grove, an upscale subdivision in greater Greenwood. No one was hurt.
The prosecutor did not provide the ages or genders of the people taken into custody. It was unclear whether the juveniles were charged with crimes.
“Neighbors as far as six houses away told Sheriff’s deputies that they heard the door banging. The homeowner opened the front door and the five juveniles fled the scene,” the release said.
Prosecutor Lance D. Hamner, in the release, called the practice “dangerous,” with the potential to lead to deaths or injuries. A homeowner who believes a home invasion is in progress could “arm himself,” and, in instances around the county, people have been shot, the prosecutor said.
He also suggested people in the residences with medical conditions could suffer fatal events such as heart attacks.
Hamner also said in the release that “this knucklehead behavior will likely result in criminal charges against the perpetrators for Trespass and possibly attempted Residential Entry, a Level 6 felony.
“Even if the perpetrators don’t enter the residence, it could be considered an attempt to do so. We take this kind of behavior seriously and we will prosecute for it.”