The TikTok app logo appears in Tokyo, on Sept. 28, 2020. Johnson County Prosecutor Lance Hamner is warning of a TikTok challenge that involves not only ringing a doorbell, but pounding and kicking it.
The Associated Press File Photo
Five juveniles were arrested after taking part in a TikTok challenge where they kicked and beat on a stranger’s door in White River Township.
Johnson County Sheriff’s deputies were called to a home in the Kensington Grove subdivision on Feb. 27 after a homeowner reported the juveniles kicked and beat on their door in the evening. Neighbors as far as six houses away told deputies they heard the banging on the door, according to the Johnson County Prosecutor’s Office.
When the homeowner opened the door, the juveniles fled the scene. Sheriff’s deputies eventually found the five juveniles and arrested them, prosecutors said.
The juveniles are believed to be taking part in the “TikTok Door Kick Challenge,” which involves not only ringing a doorbell but pounding and kicking it, said Lance Hamner, county prosecutor. This is done to the beat of “Die Young,” a 2012 song by Kesha.
This is Johnson County’s first known case of the challenge. The challenge is “very alarming” to residents, Hamner said.
“This new twist to the old ‘ding-dong-ditch’ prank is dangerous,” Hamner said.
Searching for the Door Kick Challenge on TikTok brings videos as far back as 2021, with more recent videos showing news reports and other TikTokers warning against taking part in the challenge. A news report from July 2023 shows that three homes were damaged in in New Castle County, Delaware, as a result of the challenge.
Many of the challenge videos are on TikTok, but have appeared on other platforms like Instagram as well, searches show.
There are serious problems with this behavior, Hamner said. Pranks like this could result in death or serious injuries to the perpetrators because a homeowner, awakened in the middle of the night by what sounds like someone trying to break in, might think they’re about to become the victim of a home invasion and arm themselves, he said.
“Around the country, we have seen a number of people being shot because they deliberately or even inadvertently frightened residents by causing tumult at the door,” Hamner said.
A “medically-fragile” person could also be in the residence. Hearing the pounding on the door could cause a severe or fatal medical event, like a heart attack, he said.
This “knucklehead behavior” will also likely result in criminal charges against those responsible for trespassing and possibly attempted residential entry, a Level 6 felony. Even if the perpetrators don’t enter the home, it could be considered an attempt to do so, Hamner said.
“We take this kind of behavior seriously and we will prosecute for it,” Hamner said. “I have talked with Sheriff Duane Burgess and other law enforcement officers and we agree we must take action to put a stop to this stupid and dangerous behavior in Johnson County before someone gets hurt.”
Petitions alleging delinquency have not yet been filed against the juveniles involved, he said.
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story said the incident happened “in the middle of the night” but the current version was clarified to say “evening” following an update from the prosecutor’s office. It has also been updated with more information about the challenge’s presence on other platforms.
