A homeowner has opened up about why he fatally shot a teenager who was performing a TikTok prank.

Michael Bosworth Jr., a senior at Massaponax High School, was shot and killed on May 3 around 3:00AM in Fredericksburg, Virginia — just hours before his senior prom.

The incident, which took place on McKenzie Lane, has sparked national outrage and renewed debates about the risks of viral challenges.

According to the Spotsylvania County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded to a call about a suspected residential burglary in progress.

When they arrived, they found that two teens had been shot — one fatally and the other with minor injuries. A third teenager was unharmed.

From the start, investigators believed the situation was linked to a TikTok stunt gone wrong.

Bosworth and his two friends were reportedly participating in a “ding-dong ditch” prank — ringing doorbells and running away — with plans to upload the footage online.

One of the teens told police they were unfamiliar with the neighborhood and had no intention of breaking in or stealing anything.

“The juvenile stated that they had run to hide. The juvenile said as they were running from a residence, he and his friends were shot at,” read a search warrant affidavit obtained by NBC News.

Another teen backed up the story and even handed over a phone containing a similar video they had recorded earlier that night.

The alleged shooter, 27-year-old Tyler Chase Butler, was arrested and charged with second-degree murder, malicious wounding, and two counts of using a firearm in the commission of a felony.

He is currently being held without bond at Rappahannock Regional Jail.

Butler told detectives that Bosworth and the two other teens knocked on his door in the early morning hours, which left him panicked. Believing he was being burglarized, he claimed he opened fire to defend himself and his property, per NBC Washington.

One teen was reportedly grazed by a bullet and treated for minor injuries before being released.

The heartbreaking news shattered Bosworth’s community — especially his girlfriend, Malinda Garcia, a cheerleader at the same school. She attended prom alone, wearing the pink bow tie Bosworth had planned to wear around her arm as a tribute.

“You were the best boyfriend, person, brother, son and friend that anyone could ask for,” she wrote in an emotional Instagram post shared with The Washington Post.

“I’m so glad I got to share my life with you and learn to love you and cheer you on through everything because you are one of a kind,” she continued.

“Nothing can explain the way I feel right now. I am at a loss of words and just can’t believe this is even real. I feel like I’m living in my worst nightmare and will wake up from a dream. But this is my reality, you will always be cherished in my heart forever.”

Bosworth was an avid athlete, playing lacrosse, football, and wrestling. On Tuesday, his community gathered to release black and blue balloons in his memory.

His family also announced a celebration of life will be held on May 20 at a local chapel, inviting friends to join in honoring his memory.

The Spotsylvania school district issued a public statement offering support for grieving students and staff.

“School counselors will be on site at the event to provide support as needed. Also, when students return to school on Monday, our counseling staff and additional division support team members will be available to provide support to our students and staff as needed,” the statement read.

“If your child needs support, please contact the school so that we can provide assistance. Our thoughts are with the family during this difficult time,” it added.

Featured image credit: Spotsylvania County Sheriff

A 52-year-old man has been shot dead in New Mexico after police attended the wrong home following a domestic violence call.

The incident took place at around 11:30 PM on Wednesday (April 5) in Farmington, which is in the Northwestern part of the state.

As per NBC News, the Farmington Police were responding to the call in the city but attended the wrong residence. "Once on scene, officers mistakenly approached," a police statement said.

The officers approached 5305 Valley View Avenue instead of the correct address of 5308 on the same street.

The owner of the residence, 52-year-old Robert Dotson, opened the door armed with a handgun and police fatally shot him.

The correct address is across the street from Dotson's home, and they attempted to ring the doorbell before the 52-year-old answered.

Police have stated that "one or more" officers fired rounds at Dotson, as his wife began firing back from inside the home, but ceased when she became aware that they were law enforcement.

In a video released by Farmington Police, Chief Steve Hebbe acknowledged the mistakes that were made. "Mr. Dotson was not the subject of the call that our officers were responding to, and this ending is just unbelievably tragic," he began.

"I’m extremely sorry that we’re in this position. We’ll find more facts as we go through the investigation. I extend nothing but my deepest condolences to the Dotson family.

"There's nothing I can say that will make this better. It’s a terrible event, and I’m heartbroken by it." Chief Hebbe concluded.

This isn't the first case of officials attending the wrong address, as CNN reported that members of the FBI and the US Army Special Operations Command raided an incorrect hotel room last week.

The FBI revealed that they were assisting the army with training in Boston where they were sent an incorrect hotel room number and ended up detaining a Delta Air Lines employee as opposed to a role player in the exercise.

"First and foremost, we’d like to extend our deepest apologies to the individual who was affected by the training exercise," Lt. Col. Mike Burns told CNN.

CNN law enforcement analyst John Miller revealed: "Conducting special operations in urban environments has always been a training challenge. The only way to replicate those challenges to operational security is to practice in real urban environments."

Though when discussing the verification steps that are usually taken to ensure all address information is correct, Miller added: "The idea is to minimize the chance that you either had the wrong address or the wrong door at the right address.

"These checks usually go up the chain of command to someone on the senior level to review them to make sure all the proper steps have been taken."

Police are expected to release their bodycam footage after they have given statements regarding the killing of Robert Dotson, these are expected next week.

Our thoughts are with Dotson's family and friends at this time.

Featured image credit: Jaromír Chalabala / Alamy

A Texas mom has defended fatally shooting a 14-year-old boy who was trying to enter her home.

Aleah Wallace, a Fort Worth mother of four, spoke exclusively to FOX 4 about the recent incident in which she shot and killed a 14-year-old boy attempting to break into her rental home.

The tragic event has sparked yet another conversation around self-defense and gun ownership.

The incident occurred on December 14, when Wallace - who lives with her four daughters in a duplex - heard someone attempting to break in. Wallace revealed that she had recently acquired a gun to protect her family after a series of break-ins in the local area.

"I was cleaning my living room, sweeping my floor, and I heard my window start going back up," Wallace recalled. "So I went, and I stood in the hallway. And I could see him standing at the window, lifting it up. I just shot."

The gunshots tragically claimed the life of 14-year-old Devin Baker, who was at the bedroom window of Wallace's eight-year-old daughter. The incident occurred not long after the police had left Wallace's home following her 911 call about the attempted break-in.

Wallace explained that she had experienced four attempted burglaries before this incident, and she felt she had to take action to protect her family.

"I have four daughters. It’s just me and my four daughters that stay there. I just was protecting my daughters," she said. "I'm devastated that he was 14. I hate that. I literally do. And I'm so sorry. But at that point, I had to think about my babies. I didn’t know he was 14 when he was on the other side of that window.

"All I knew was that somebody could come in and hurt me or my kids. That's it."

The case has been sent to a grand jury - but no charges have been filed against Wallace at this time.

Wallace has also revealed that she is now facing eviction from her subsidized housing. She claims that her apartment management informed her that she was not allowed to have a gun, despite her repeated reports of attempted break-ins. Wallace said she was given 30 days to vacate her apartment and now faces uncertainty about housing for her family.

"I feel like I'm back at square one. I was there for six years, and now I don't know what to do," she said.

There is no clear law prohibiting residents of government-subsidized housing from owning a gun, and no signs indicating such restrictions were found on the property.

The complex's local manager directed inquiries to the corporate office, which, in turn, advised contacting on-site management.

In another report by Fox, it was revealed that the teenager was an eighth-grader at a local middle school.

His mom had revealed that he snuck out of the house that evening, and she didn't realize he was gone until the morning.

Featured image credit: Fox4

A Michigan man has been shot and killed by state troopers after he pointed a laser and opened fire on a police helicopter.

According to the New York Post, authorities have said that the incident happened on Tuesday (January 24) evening at around 8:30PM when the chopper circled downtown Detroit.

The man - identified as a 33-year-old from the Detroit suburb of Lincoln Park - was at an abandoned home when he began pointing a laser at the police helicopter.

In the video released by Michigan State Police, the man emerged from the second-story window and pointed a green laser at the aircraft. The pilot then told the dispatcher: "We got somebody hitting us with a green laser on the rear of the house, upper window."

After a few minutes, the man left the house and aimed a "long gun" toward the hovering helicopter before opening fire. The pilot continued: "Now there's somebody standing at the back door. Right now, they're in the backyard. He actually might, he might be armed."

"He almost looks like he's holding a long gun pointed at us right now. Yeah, he's shooting at us right now. He's firing rounds. He's got a long gun, extended magazine," they added.

The suspect was then hit and killed by two state troopers who responded to the house. It has not been disclosed how many shots were discharged by cops and the suspect during the encounter, per Fox News.

Speaking about the incident to Fox 2 Detroit, Michigan State Police Lieutenant Mike Shaw explained: "If the pilot had been blinded and crashed into this neighborhood, it would have been a lot worse," adding: "People don’t realize the seriousness of firing a laser at our aircraft or any aircraft."

"Troopers returned fire," he said about the troops shooting the now-deceased man. "The suspect was hit and went down. We had our emergency support team show up and went up to approach the house. There were concerns because he was still armed and was laying there."

Afterward, authorities attained search warrants so they went into the abandoned home and recovered five firearms, including the one the suspect had used to shoot at the helicopter.

"They found multiple weapons and ammunition stashes throughout the home as if it were set up for some type of ambush or security purposes or whatever," Shaw revealed.

"Anybody that thinks that that’s a joke or you’re just trying to see what would happen, the potential there is bringing that aircraft down," he added.

According to the outlet, the police have not discovered a motive yet, but, a neighbor informed them that the man recently moved in with a dog, which is now under animal control.

The helicopter was not damaged during the shooting and the two officers that killed the suspect are being identified as a two-year veteran and a nine-year veteran of the department.

Both state troopers are on leave pending the outcome of the investigation.

Featured image credit: Operation 2022 / Alamy