Why neighbors say teen is lucky a prank didn’t end in tragedy
By Rachael Perry
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PORT ST. LUCIE, FL (WPBF) — A video capturing what might seem like a harmless prank is raising concerns, specifically because of what the person is wearing.
The video was posted to a local community Facebook page and shows what appears to be a teen, dressed in all black and wearing a mask, running up to a home, ringing the doorbell, and running away. People who live in the area say they feel the teen is lucky they weren’t hurt.
WPBF 25 News spoke with MSgt. Dominick Mesiti with the Port St. Lucie Police Department on how recent cases nationwide have ended in tragedy.
“It was 11 o’clock or later at night. You have somebody wearing black with a black balaclava covering their entire face, and all you can see is their eyes. I mean, that in and of itself, if a law enforcement officer witnessed somebody running from a residence, wearing that kind of outfit, we’re going to, at a minimum, detain them, and they may be facing a loitering and prowling charge,” Mesiti said.
He said, thankfully, they haven’t had any of these types of pranks end in a fatality, but said children and teens need to be aware of how dangerous it can be.
“Parents need to take that initiative, discuss these incidents with their children, you know, let them know that there is a danger associated with stepping onto somebody else’s private property unannounced, uninvited, because you don’t know whose home that is. You don’t know who’s behind that door,” Mesiti said.
Earlier this year, an 11-year-old boy was shot and killed in Texas while playing a game of “ding dong ditch” at a house down the street from their homes. According to Houston police, a person inside the house came out and shot the boy.
A few years earlier, in 2020, three 16-year-olds were killed when a man rammed his car into their vehicle in retaliation for pulling a “ding dong ditch” prank on him.
The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office arrested a 13-year-old girl and a 15-year-old boy for kicking a resident’s door one night.
“That’s a good way to end up dead, especially in Florida,” Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood told sister station WESH.
Following the recent prank in Port St. Lucie, Mesiti acknowledged castle doctrine in the state of Florida and the stand-your-ground law; however, he said that doesn’t mean someone can use lethal force when a person just rings their doorbell or knocks on their door.
“There has to be some sort of well-founded fear and some sort of threat that’s occurring to be able to use force to prevent that threat,” he said.
Mesiti said that it can change if someone attempts to enter the home.
“We have seen nationally, not in Port St. Lucie, but the TikTok trends where it’s not just ding-dong ditching, they’re actually attempting to kick the door in and open it. Now, that changes things completely because you’re now forcibly entering a home. So in the state of Florida, that would be an occupied burglary or an occupied trespass, and a homeowner may be legally allowed to use necessary force to prevent the entry of that individual,” he said.
Officials across the country have raised concerns about the door-knock challenge, and Mesiti said it’s crucial that children and teens understand the consequences and dangers.
“I think a lot of children these days, they don’t really think their actions through, they see somebody do it online, and then they’ll want to mimic that. So just because it’s done online doesn’t mean it’s smart, doesn’t mean it’s safe, and it could end up very poorly for them,” he said.
WPBF 25 News spoke with people who live in the neighborhood where this most recent prank happened. One neighbor said she’d be terrified to see a masked person outside her home at 11 p.m., and her husband agreed, both saying they’re surprised the teen wasn’t harmed.
The homeowner who captured the video said seeing someone dressed in all black with their face covered was alarming at first until he realized it was likely a teen playing a prank.
As for what people should do if they have something similar happen at their home, Mesiti said it’s always a good idea to contact the police and notify them of suspicious behavior.
“Call 911, let us identify these people, let us ensure what it is, if it’s a simple prank, nine out of ten times, we’ll just return the juvenile to the parent, notify the parent, and hope that the parent takes the appropriate action,” he said.
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