Teens' Game of 'Ding Dong Ditch' Escalates to Stabbing

14-year-old boys arrested on suspicion of assault
By Michael Harthorne,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 8, 2017 4:32 PM CDT
'Ding Dong Ditch' Ends in Stabbing
Stock image   (Getty Images/eurobanks)

"I think the concept of 'ding dong ditch' has been around pretty much since the invention of the door and since teenagers have been in existence," KOMO quotes a spokesperson for the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office as saying. "Obviously they don't normally end with this sort of violent incident." Authorities say two 14-year-old boys in Washington state were arrested late Thursday after a game of ding dong ditch went awry and ended with the stabbing of a 47-year-old man. A group of kids were playing the prank on Snohomish residents when one 14-year-old boy rang the victim's doorbell, the Seattle Times reports. The victim opened the door, a confrontation ensued, and the victim grabbed the teen.

Authorities say the 14-year-old was holding a knife and stabbed the victim in the chest and leg. The other 14-year-old allegedly threw a bicycle at the victim to make him let go of his friend. The victim's wife called 911, and the boys fled. The teens, who allegedly also slashed the victim's tires, were found nearby by police dogs and arrested on suspicion of second-degree assault. The victim was hospitalized in unknown condition. Earlier this year, a Washington state father warned about the dangers of ding dong ditch after his security camera caught two kids playing the prank on him. "It's a kid being a kid, but in today's day and age, the amount of violence you see on the TV every day, you never know who's behind that door," he told KHQ. (More pranks stories.)

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