SEGUIN, Texas – Residents in a Seguin subdivision were woken up just before 4 a.m. Friday by loud banging on their door.
It wasn’t police, but people motivated by a viral social media trend, known as the “Door Kick Challenge.”
“We thought somebody ran into, you know, our garage or ran into our truck in the front,” resident Victoria Rodriguez said.
When Rodriguez and her husband, Israel Rodriguez-Munoz, checked their surveillance cameras, they saw four people attempting to kick in their door.
And after calling Seguin police, Rodriguez said they learned they weren’t the only ones targeted.
The Seguin Police Department said it responded to six separate calls early Friday morning involving attempted door kick-ins. The homes targeted were mostly located north of Interstate 10.
It’s part of a nationwide trend, where pranksters are challenged to approach the front door of people’s homes and kick it as hard as they can, then take off.
But Rodriguez-Munoz said the damage caused by the “challenge” is no laughing matter.
“The door jamb is cracked from top to bottom, so at (minimum) $200,” Rodriguez-Munoz said, “and then the most excessive is like $1,000 because you have to replace the door.”
Police have not yet identified the suspects in the case, but believe they are minors. The investigation remains ongoing.
In a news release, the department said the incidents may be connected and that the homes were targeted at random.
Despite the personal pain the prank caused, they said they are also concerned that those who partake could face a greater cost.
“They’re going (to) go up to the wrong house,” Rodriguez said, “You know, someone who has PTSD. Someone who, you know, owns weapons.”
Last summer, Houston police said an 11-year-old boy was shot and killed by a homeowner while participating in a ‘ding-dong’ ditch prank with a group of people.
Rodriguez said she wants to help make parents aware of the challenge itself and to warn their children that it could have deadly results.
“You know, this will hopefully make parents aware to talk to their children (about) not doing this,” Rodriguez said.
The department asked anyone with information on the incident to contact them at 830-379-2123. Anonymous tips may also be submitted through Guadalupe County Crime Stoppers or by using the P3 Tips app.
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