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(HOUSTON) — An 11-year-old Texas boy has died after being shot in the back when he allegedly attempted a door-knocking prank on a neighbor, police said.

The shooting unfolded around 10:55 p.m. on Saturday at a home in southeast Houston, Shay Awosiyan, a spokesman for the Houston Police Department, told ABC News.

The child, who police initially said was 10 years old, was pronounced dead at a hospital on Sunday, according to a statement released by police. The boy’s name was being withheld by police pending an autopsy.

“Officers were told the male was ringing doorbells of homes in the area and running away. A witness stated the male was running from a house, after ringing the doorbell, just prior to suffering a gunshot wound,” Houston homicide detectives said.

One person detained for questioning had been released, but was detained again as a possible suspect in the shooting after police were notified around 2 p.m. local time on Sunday that the child had died, Sgt. Michael Cass of the Houston Police Department said at a news conference on Sunday.

Cass said it was unclear if the man being detained was the owner of the home where the deadly door-knocking prank occurred.

A search warrant was served on the home, and Cass said a significant amount of weapons were found inside the house.

“The possible suspect has been detained and interviewed but not yet formally charged,” Cass said.

Cass said the victim, who lived about a block away, was running away from the house with at least two friends when a witness saw a man exit the home with what appeared to be a handgun and fire multiple rounds in their direction.

After being hit in the back, the victim ran about a block before collapsing in the street, Cass said.

The prank allegedly committed in Houston is similar to what’s being dubbed the “Door Kicking Challenge,” a national trend based on an old prank called “Ding Dong Ditch,” in which groups of kids record videos of themselves kicking and banging on doors of homes and apartments before running away and then posting the videos on social media platforms such as TikTok.

In July, a 58-year-old Texas homeowner was arrested and charged with aggravated assault when he allegedly fired multiple rounds at a vehicle fleeing his home in Frisco after someone banged on the front door, according to a statement from the Frisco Police Department.

The driver of the car that was shot at around 10:50 p.m. on July 28 and two passengers contacted police to file a complaint, showing officers three bullet holes in the vehicle, according to police.

“However, during subsequent interviews, all admitted to ding, dong, ditching in a random neighborhood when they were confronted by a male with a firearm,” the Frisco police said in a statement.

In June, police in Chandler, Arizona, released video footage of a group of juveniles committing the “Door Kicking Challenge,” alleging the group pulled the prank on the same home at least 18 times, prompting the homeowner to move out.

“Let’s be clear: These ‘pranks’ can have serious consequences and lead to charges such as criminal damage, disorderly conduct, or harassment,” the Chandler Police Department said in a message to parents in the community. “Parents — please take a moment to talk with your children. Know where they are, who they’re with, and what they’re doing.”

Police in Fort Worth, Texas, posted a similar community message in May after receiving more than 20 complaints of young people committing the “Door Kicking Challenge.”

“It can be mistaken as an attempted break-in, potentially prompting dangerous or defensive responses from homeowners,” the Fort Worth Police Department said in a statement. “What may seem like a prank can result in very real trouble and/or danger.”

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(MINNEAPOLIS, Minn.) — As Minneapolis public schools prepare to begin the first day of classes on Tuesday, police confirmed three more children were injured in last week’s shooting at the Annunciation Catholic School.

Minneapolis Police Department on Monday announced the revised number of injured, bringing the total amount of victims who were injured by gunfire to 21.

Authorities said 18 children between the ages of 6 and 15 were hurt in the shooting, along with three adults in their 80s who were attending mass at the time of the incident on Wednesday.

The gunfire erupted during morning Mass, when a 23-year-old shooter opened fire through the windows of the school’s church, police said.

Two children, 8-year-old Fletcher Merkel and 10-year-old Harper Moyski, died in the shooting, their families confirmed on Thursday.

“Yesterday, a coward decided to take our 8-year-old son, Fletcher, away from us. Because of their actions, we will never be allowed to hold him, talk to him, play with him, and watch him grow into the wonderful young man he was on the path to becoming,” Jesse Merkel, Fletcher’s father, said on Thursday.

Harper’s parents remembered her as a “bright, joyful and deeply loved 10-year-old whose laughter, kindness, and spirit touched everyone who knew her.”

Hennepin Healthcare said four patients — three children and one adult — remain hospitalized at the Hennepin County Medical Center.

While other Minneapolis schools are coming back into session with a substantially increased visible patrol presence, Annunciation will remain closed.

Police continue to actively investigate the shooter and have yet to determine a motive.

The shooter, who previously attended the school, died at the scene from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, authorities said last week.

“There has been conversation” with the shooter’s mother, Minneapolis Police Assistant Chief Christopher Gaiters said on Friday, though he did not elaborate.

Annique London, one mother of three daughters who all attended Annunciation in recent years, told ABC News she and her children feel a mix of community support and anxiety as school starts.

London’s daughter recently graduated from Annunciation — which teaches children in pre-K to eight grade — and will start high school nearby.

“She’s going to the public school Southwest High School and is terrified to go to school. And I don’t think she’s unique. I don’t even think the public school administration has yet come to terms with the support that might be needed for some students,” London said.

ABC News’ Ahmad Hemingway, Christiane Cordero and Briana Stewart contributed to this report.

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At least five people have been killed and 30 others injured in shootings across Chicago over Labor Day weekend, including a drive-by attack that left seven victims wounded late Saturday night, according to police.

The violent holiday weekend came as President Donald Trump renewed threats to send federal agents and National Guard troops to Chicago over the objections of Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson.

Trump on Saturday sent a warning to the Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker in a post on his social media platform, referencing recent crime in Chicago and saying Pritzker “better straighten it out, FAST, or we’re coming!”

Illinois Gov. Pritzker, a Democrat, responded in a news conference a week ago to an earlier Trump threat to “straighten out Chicago, just like we did D.C.,” by saying that the president’s plan was “unprecedented and unwarranted. It is illegal, it is unconstitutional, it is un-American.”

Mayor Johnson responded last week by saying in part that he had “grave concerns about the impact of any unlawful deployment of National Guard troops to the city of Chicago,” and calling Trump’s approach “uncoordinated, uncalled for, and unsound.” Johnson also said that deploying the National Guard in Chicago could “inflame tensions between residents and law enforcement.”

On Saturday, Mayor Johnson signed an executive order dubbed the “Protecting Chicago Initiative,” which he described in a news conference as “the most sweeping campaign of any city in the country to protect ourselves from the threats and actions of this out-of-control administration,” and which “directs our department of law to pursue any and every legal mechanism to hold this administration accountable for violating the rights of Chicagoans.”

“We have received credible reports that we have days, not weeks, before our city sees some type of militarized activity by the federal government,” Johnson said, in part. “We take these threats seriously and we find ourselves in a position where we must take immediate, drastic action to protect our people from federal overreach.”

At least 20 separate shootings occurred in Chicago between 10:32 p.m. Friday and 3 a.m. Sunday morning, according to a review by ABC News of police incident reports published online.

The victims included a 17-year-old girl who was inside her home when a bullet came through a front window and hit her in the arm, a 31-year-old man who was shot in the leg after getting caught in the crossfire of gunmen shooting at each other from two vehicles, and a 25-year-old woman who was shot and injured while driving down a street, all according to the incident reports.

Fewer than five hours after Trump posted a message on social media on Saturday criticizing Pritzker’s handling of crime in Chicago, a mass shooting occurred in the Bronzeville neighborhood of Chicago’s South Side that left seven people wounded.

“He better straighten it out, FAST, or we’re coming!,” Trump said in his post about Pritzker.

The shooting in Bronzeville occurred about 11:10 p.m. on Saturday on South State Street, according to police. A group of people were gathered outside in the area when a vehicle drove by and at least one occupant opened fire on the crowd. All seven people shot, five men and two women ranging in age from 28 to 32, were taken to hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries to their lower extremities, police said. No suspects have been arrested.

The first of five homicides that police say occurred over the long holiday weekend happened at 11:56 p.m. on Friday at the South Shore apartment complex on East Essex Street, where two women were discovered shot, according to police.

A 25-year-old woman was found in the apartment suffering from two gunshot wounds to her stomach and one to her leg, according to a police incident report. She was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center where she was pronounced dead, according to authorities. The victim’s name was not immediately released.

The second victim, a 23-year-old woman, suffered gunshot wounds to both legs and was in fair condition at the University of Chicago Medical Center.

Investigators were interviewing a person of interest in the East Essex Street homicide but no arrests have been announced, according to police.

Elsewhere, two men were shot, one fatally, in the East Garfield Park neighborhood of Chicago around 11 a.m. on Saturday, according to police. The victims were standing outside on North Sawyer Avenue when a dark SUV approached them and a gunman exited the vehicle and opened fire, according to a police incident report.

A 29-year-old man, whose name was not immediately released, was shot multiple times and taken to Mount Sinai Hospital where he was pronounced dead, according to police. The second victim, a 32-year-old man, suffered a gunshot wound to his right side and was in stable condition at Mount Sinai, police said. No arrests have been announced in the incident.

Also on Saturday, gunfire erupted in the Altgeld Gardens neighborhood. Around 7:46 p.m., a 43-year-old woman was standing outside on E. 131st Street when five armed men approached her and opened fire, striking her multiple times, according to police. The victim, whose name was not immediately released, was taken to Christ Hospital where she was pronounced dead, police said.

No arrests have been announced in the Altgeld Gardens homicide.

Around 1:39 a.m. on Sunday, a 46-year-old man, whose name was not immediately released, was killed in a triple shooting that occurred in the Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago’s Lower West Side, according to police. The victims were standing on West 17th Street when a gunman walked up to them and opened fire, police said.

The two other victims, a 41-year-old man and a 43-year-old man, suffered gunshot wounds to their legs and were in good condition at Mount Sinai Hospital, police said.

Around 2:52 a.m. on Sunday, a 33-year-old man was killed in the West Inglewood neighborhood on the Southwest Side of Chicago, police said. The victim got into a argument inside a residence with a man who shot him in the head, according to police. The victim, whose name was not immediately released, was pronounced dead at the scene, according to police. No arrests were announced.

The series of shootings came after President Donald Trump said last week that he is prepared to order National Guard troops to American cities in addition to those in the nation’s capital, but that he wanted local officials to request his help.

Trump threatened to make Chicago the next city he would target after he declared what he said was a public safety emergency in Washington, D.C., and he put the city’s police force under federal control on Aug. 11.

Violent crime in Chicago has dropped significantly in the first half of the year, according to official data released by the city. Shootings are down 37% and homicides have dropped by 32% compared to the first half of 2024, while total violence crime dropped by over 22%, according to the crime statistics.

“Do not come to Chicago, you are neither wanted here nor needed here,” Pritzker further said in response to Trump during a news conference last week. “Donald Trump wants to use the military to occupy a U.S. city to punish its dissidents and score political points. If this were happening in any other country, we would have no trouble calling it what it is – a dangerous power-grab.”

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(NEW YORK) — A 10-year-old Texas boy was shot and critically injured when he allegedly attempted a door-knocking prank on a neighbor, police said.

The shooting unfolded around 10:55 p.m. on Saturday at a home on Membrough Street in southeast Houston, Shay Awosiyan, a spokesman for the Houston Police Department, told ABC News on Sunday.

“A 10-year-old was apparently knocking on neighbors’ doors and running away when someone apparently fired shots,” Awosiyan said.

Awosiyan said one person was detained at the scene of the shooting and was being questioned, but no charges have been filed.

The injured child, who was out committing the prank with friends, was treated at the scene by the Houston Fire Department and taken to a nearby hospital, where he was in critical condition on Sunday afternoon, Awosiyan said.

The investigation continued on Sunday, but police released no additional details.

The prank allegedly committed in Houston is similar to what’s being dubbed the “Door Kicking Challenge,” a national trend based on an old prank called “Ding Dong Ditch,” in which groups of kids record videos of themselves kicking and banging on doors of homes and apartments before running away and then posting the videos on social media platforms such as TikTok.

In July, a 58-year-old Texas homeowner was arrested and charged with aggravated assault when he allegedly fired multiple rounds at a vehicle fleeing his home in Frisco after someone banged on the front door, according to a statement from the Frisco Police Department.

The driver of the car that was shot at around 10:50 p.m. on July 28 and two passengers contacted police to file a complaint, showing officers three bullet holes in the vehicle, according to police.

“However, during subsequent interviews, all admitted to ding, dong, ditching in a random neighborhood when they were confronted by a male with a firearm,” the Frisco police said in a statement.

In June, police in Chandler, Arizona, released video footage of a group of juveniles committing the “Door Kicking Challenge,” alleging the group pulled the prank on the same home at least 18 times, prompting the homeowner to move out.

“Let’s be clear: These ‘pranks’ can have serious consequences and lead to charges such as criminal damage, disorderly conduct, or harassment,” the Chandler Police Department said in a message to parents in the community. “Parents — please take a moment to talk with your children. Know where they are, who they’re with, and what they’re doing.”

Police in Fort Worth, Texas, posted a similar community message in May after receiving more than 20 complaints of young people committing the “Door Kicking Challenge.”

“It can be mistaken as an attempted break-in, potentially prompting dangerous or defensive responses from homeowners…,’ the Fort Worth Police Department said in a statement. “What may seem like a prank can result in very real trouble and/or danger.”

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(NASHVILLE) — It was long believed that Pauline Mullins Pusser, the wife of the legendary Tennessee sheriff Buford Pusser, was shot and killed in an ambush meant for her husband, but new evidence suggests that it was the late sheriff who killed his wife.

A Tennessee Bureau of Investigation report uncovered “inconsistencies in Buford Pusser’s statements to law enforcement and to others,” District Attorney Mark Davidson said at a press conference Friday.

Law enforcement uncovered physical, medical, forensic, ballistic and reenactment evidence that contradicted the McNairy County sheriff’s account of his wife’s 1967 murder.

The sheriff’s story inspired the movie “Walking Tall” in 1973 and several sequels, a 2004 remake and several books, Davidson said.

Buford Pusser died in a car accident in 1974.

“This case is not about tearing down a legend, it is about giving dignity and closure to Pauline and her family and ensuring that the truth is not buried with time,” Davidson said.

The sheriff had reported that his wife volunteered to ride along with him in the dark, early morning hours on a disturbance call. He claimed that a car pulled alongside his and fired several shots toward them, killing Pauline and injuring him in what he claimed was an ambush intended for him carried out by unknown assailants, according to Davidson.

The sheriff, who was also shot in the ambush, recovered from his injuries and no viable suspects were found and no charges were filed.

Investigators now believe that Pauline Pusser was shot outside the vehicle then placed inside the vehicle, which is not what Buford Pusser has told investigators at the time of the murder.

“This was a cold case for decades but in 2022 TBI agents took another look at the archive file and coordinated with our office. That work accelerated in 2023 and in 2024, Pauline Mullins Pusser was exhumed for an autopsy,” Davidson said.

“It’s been said that the dead cannot cry out for justice, it is the duty of the living to do so. In this case that duty is being carried out 58 years later,” Davidson said.

Investigators used modern forensic science and investigative techniques that were not available in 1967, officials said.

A new autopsy also revealed cranial trauma suffered by Pauline Pusser does not match crime scene photographs of the interior of the vehicle she was allegedly killed in. Blood splatter on the outside of the vehicle also contradicts Buford Pusser’s account of the murder, Davidson said.

A forensic investigator also determined that a gunshot wound to Buford Pusser’s cheek was a close contact wound, not long range as he had described, and was likely self inflicted, Davidson said. Blood splatter analysis also indicated that someone was injured both inside and outside the vehicle, he said.

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