An 11-year-old boy died in Houston over the weekend after being shot in the back while playing a “ding-dong ditch” prank, police have confirmed.
According to investigators, the child was with two other kids in an East Houston neighborhood when they rang a doorbell and ran away. The homeowner then allegedly stepped outside with a handgun and opened fire down the street. The boy was struck in the back and later pronounced dead.
Houston police reported that the incident happened late Saturday night, around 11 p.m. in the 9700 block of Racine Street, near Fidelity Street.
Police have since confirmed that charges have been filed in the case. The suspected shooter, identified as 42-year-old Leon Gonzalo Jr., has been charged with murder. Gonzalo was taken into custody on Tuesday morning and booked into the Harris County Jail without bail, according to inmate records.
The victim was identified as 11-year-old Julian Guzman. Doctors pronounced Guzman dead on August 31 after he was rushed to the hospital with multiple gunshot wounds.
Sergeant Michael Cass told Fox 4 KDFW that the facts of the case do not suggest a self-defense argument, adding that the boy was not near the house at the time, making a murder charge more likely to stick.
Under Texas’ Castle Doctrine, residents may legally use deadly force if they reasonably believe their life or safety is in danger, but the protection is not automatic. While homeowners in Texas enjoy some protection under those laws, deadly force is not automatically justified, especially in a case where children are running away from the scene, posing no further threat.
The case follows a similar incident in Frisco in July in which 58-year-old Damon Wolfe reportedly fired at teenagers participating in a TikTok-fueled ding-dong ditch challenge, as previously reported by The Dallas Express. Wolfe was eventually charged with three counts of aggravated assault, even though none of the bullets struck any of the teens.
In some cases, ding-dong ditching may technically qualify as low-level trespassing, but it is not grounds for deadly retaliation.