SLEEPY HOLLOW, Ill. (WLS) — Authorities issued a fresh alert on Friday regarding a social media trend gaining popularity. Teens are engaging in a new prank where they kick in doors of residences and then flee.
The teens might think it’s just a prank, but Sleepy Hollow police say it could have serious consequences.
ABC7 spoke to one homeowner that fell victim to it.
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Just a bit past 2 a.m., Anne Ybarra was roused by a loud crash in her home. Initially, she assumed that a fallen tree had struck the house.
Upon further investigation, she realized that her front door had been forcefully broken. Her Ring security footage showed four teenagers fleeing the scene after the incident.
“You can see kids running up to the house, the noise of them trying to break through my front door,” Ybarra said.
The teens could be heard laughing afterward on the security camera video.
Ybarra soon discovered that she was merely the first of no fewer than two victims that evening. As reported by the police, the group targeted one other residence in Sleepy Hollow, breaking in during the night.
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It may have been a prank, but police say it could have serious consequences.
“This was kids being criminal,” Sleepy Hollow Police Chief Sam Parma said. “It was not kids being kids.”
The police chief noted that this appears to be linked to a TikTok challenge that has been spreading in various cities across the nation. He suspects all the individuals involved are teenagers and mentioned that they got lucky since no homeowner confronted them with a firearm.
In addition to the security video, police say there may be eyewitnesses as well.
Ybarra mentioned that the cost to fix the door amounted to several thousand dollars, though she is more troubled by the loss of safety and peace in her community, all due to what they considered a joke.
“One of the kids had a cell phone turned on, backed up the idea maybe they were doing this for a TikTok,” Ybarra said.
There was a $1,000 reward being offered for information about the suspects. The police chief says if they turn themselves in, they will be charged with misdemeanors, but if police find them first, the charge will be a felony.
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