A man from Northern Virginia is facing multiple charges after allegedly shooting and killing a high school student whom he believed was attempting to break into his home. A friend of the victim claims it was part of a TikTok challenge that ended in tragedy.
Tyler Butler, 27, has been charged with second-degree murder, malicious wounding, and using a firearm in the commission of a felony. He is accused of firing at three teenagers behind the house he shares with his parents and brother on McKenzie Lane in Fredericksburg.
The incident occurred around 3 PM on Saturday, when the homeowner told investigators that Bosworth and the two other teens were trying to break into his home. The sheriff’s office received a report of a burglary in progress involving a resident who had discharged a firearm. Bosworth was transported to a hospital, where he later died.
One of the other teens, who sustained a minor grazing wound from a bullet, informed detectives that they were not attempting to break in to steal anything. Instead, they explained they were filming “ding-dong ditch” pranks for TikTok—ringing doorbells and then running away.
A detective located the third teen, who was uninjured, and that individual corroborated the story, even offering their phone to show a similar video recorded earlier that evening.
Butler is currently being held without bond at the Rappahannock Regional Jail.
