A Virginia man is guilty of second-degree murder in the fatal shooting of an 18-year-old high school student who pulled a “ding dong ditch” TikTok prank with friends, according to reports.
Tyler Chase Butler, 27, was also convicted of attempted second-degree murder, malicious wounding, use of a firearm in commission of a felony and unlawfully shooting into an occupied dwelling in connection with the May 2025 shooting that killed Michael Bosworth Jr., WUSA9 reported.
During the morning of May 3, 2025, Bosworth and two teenagers were participating in what the two other teens would describe to detectives as a “Ding Dong Ditch” TikTok challenge involving kicking a person’s door and immediately running away, according to the TV station.
At Butler’s trial, the two teens said they banged on Butler’s neighbor’s garage door and reportedly entered Butler’s yard as they ran, DC News Now reported.
According to video footage shown in court, Butler, 27, stepped outside his home while armed to confront the three teens and fired 10 shots, according to the news outlet.
The shots struck Bosworth, who died of his injuries at a nearby hospital, and another teens who sustained “minor injuries,” the Spotsylvania Sheriff’s Office said in a May 6, 2025, news release.
Butler has maintained that he opened fire in self-defense, as he and his mother feared someone was breaking into their residence, NBC4 Washington reported.
“Our family is united in support of Tyler Chase Butler, who acted out of a genuine fear for his safety and the safety of his mother,” Butler’s family said via a statement released by Robinson Law PLLC, the law firm representing Butler, following Butler’s May 2025 arrest.
“Tyler found himself in an unimaginable situation, forced to protect his home and his loved ones in the early hours of the morning,” the statement continued. “We are aware of the profound loss experienced by the loved ones of the young man who lost his life. Our thoughts are with them during this difficult time.”
Bosworth was a senior at Massaponax High School in Fredericksburg when he died, per WUSA9. He wanted to join the U.S. Marine Corps upon graduation, his stepfather told the TV station.
Murder is a trauma that does not end, but I pray the family of the deceased victim finds some solace in the jury’s verdict,” Spotsylvania County Commonwealth’s attorney Ryan Mehaffey said in a statement to NBC4 Washington in the wake of Butler’s conviction.
Butler’s sentencing is set for October 30.
