Social media “Door Kick Challenge” leads to arrest of kids, costly damage in Elk Grove
By Tori Apodaca
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SACRAMENTO (KOVR) — A social media challenge is causing some costly damage in Elk Grove, with at least five children recently arrested for vandalism.
Elk Grove police said it is called the “Door Kick Challenge,” where kids are running up to people’s doors, kicking them in and then running off.
Sergeant Jason Jimenez said that over the last 30 days, the department has gotten eight reports of this challenge and has made five arrests, with two of those being arrests of 13-year-olds. The ages of the other three weren’t given, but police described them in a press release as “youngsters.”
Jimenez said one doorframe was busted so badly that it cost upwards of $900 to fix. Anything above $950 could be felony charges, and the parents would be held responsible for paying for the repairs.
The fear it is causing the people on the other side is immeasurable.
“Somebody could come out with a gun, and you could never know, these kids could be dead just for a stupid prank,” said Ronnie Monroe, who showed CBS13 his dented garage door.
Monroe said his garage got kicked in by kids in back-to-back weeks in September. The first kicks came at 1 a.m. one week and the next ones around 5 a.m.
“The granddaughter came flying in and she was scared, all panicky, which I can understand that,” Monroe said.
His family hopped in their cars to chase the kids, only to find them at another neighbor’s door doing the same thing.
“It sounds like someone is kicking down your door to try and hurt your family,” Jiminez said.
Jimenez said school resource officers have been helping identify the kids in the videos.
“What starts off as a simple challenge or trend may be fun to some, but can be traumatizing and traumatic to others,” he said.
Another door-kicking victim shared a video with CBS13 of the alleged door kickers riding up on their e-bikes. You can then hear a big boom. The person said the kicks were so intense, they thought a car accident had happened.
“You can’t catch them if you can’t see them,” said Monroe. “They get on electric bikes, and they are gone.”
Police hope kids will kick this trend to the curb before a kid kicks on the wrong person’s door.
Sgt. Jimenez is asking all parents to please have a conversation with their children about the dangers of this challenge, and if it happens to your home, call 911.
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