Police warn of Tiktok challenge causing property damage

WENTZVILLE, Mo. — Wentzville Police Department is asking parents to speak up with their teens about a TikTok challenge that causes property damage. A teenager faces charges of disturbing the peace over the challenge.

“The challenge is recording yourself kicking a door and running away,” said Sgt. Jacob Schmidt of the Wentzville Police Department. “So I guess it’s a play on the old ding-dong-ditch game.”

The seemingly harmless prank could lead to criminal charges and property damage.

“Very expensive. Hundreds of dollars for a new storm door, so it’s a big problem,” said Steve Heiland. “Not just the kids that are on your property, but the potential cost to the homeowner if something happens.”

Police want to stop the challenge before anyone gets hurt.

“I’ll probably bring it up to them just to say we’ve heard this going around,” Jennifer Donley said. “We should be aware of that. If your friends want to do it and you’re going for it, just don’t do it. It is property damage that costs money and it is a crime.”

“It sounds harmless at first, until a glass door, grille or metal door gets dented,” Schmidt said. “We’ve had a couple of service calls for aluminum garage doors that can get dented and they can get very expensive. So what has become of what used to be a funny prank now costs money.”

Homeowners want the trend to end quickly.

“Some of this TikTok stuff just got out of hand,” Heiland said.

https://fox2now.com/news/missouri/police-warn-about-tiktok-challenge-that-causing-property-damage/ Police warn of Tiktok challenge causing property damage