A homeowner in Virginia has been charged with murder after shooting a high school athlete who, along with his friends, was filming TikTok pranks at 3 AM on Saturday.
Tyler Chase Butler, 27, was taken into custody on Tuesday and charged with second-degree murder, malicious wounding, and two counts of firearm use. He allegedly fired upon the three teens, resulting in the death of 18-year-old Michael Bosworth Jr. and injury to another teenager, as reported by WRC.
Bosworth was a senior at Massaponax High School, where the played lacrosse and football and wrestled.
Butler claimed that he believed the teens were attempting to break into his house. The Spotsylvania County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report concerning a burglary in progress where a homeowner had discharged a firearm.
But after hearing the boys plead that they were just filming ding dong ditch pranks for TikTok,they arrested Butler. The third teen, who was not shot, showed them video of an earlier prank on his phone. Police did not say why the boys were in Butler’s back yard or how Butler could have known they were pranking him.
Neighbors told WTTG that other homeowners also thought the teens were trying to break in as they roamed around the neighborhood in the early hours of the morning.
“I’m sorry the kid did that,” said Shawn Morrell. “I wish he hadn’t done what he did because he had to pay the ultimate price. Nobody likes that. Nobody. Not even the homeowner.”
Meanwhile, Butler is being held without bond at the Rappahannock Regional Jail, WRC said.
