A SICK online challenge has left a neighborhood terrorized and even forced one family to move from their home after it was targeted 18 times.
The Chandler Police Department in Arizona is warning homeowners of a possibly destructive social media trend.
Participants in the trend dare one another to kick down doors and vandalize homes.
Police are calling on parents to talk to their children about the prank and inform them that it can result in criminal charges.
“Parents — please take a moment to talk with your children. Know where they are, who they’re with, and what they’re doing,” the department stated on social media.
“Help them understand the legal and personal consequences of these actions.”
A video shows one person kicking a door and banging on it several times.
Another part of the clip shows a group of people doing the same thing all at once.
Police have said that some teens turned off electrical boxes as part of the “prank,” shutting off people’s power.
“They’re just getting weird TikTok challenges and they’re daring each other,” Mesa resident Angelica Proffer told local CBS affiliate KTVK-TV.
Proffer said her neighborhood has experienced similar pranks, and her neighbors were victims.
“Their garage door was dented pretty bad,” she said.
Proffer, a teacher, was able to identify some of the teens participating in the trend by sending a video of the incident to the local high school.
“The boys that did it at our house, they didn’t even know each other. Just some kids walking by them dared them to do it,” she said.
“Their parents were mortified. ‘We’ll pay for the damages. We’ll help you out. Whatever you need. If you decide to press charges, we understand. But they were very willing to work with us, and we were grateful for that.”
Proffer didn’t press charges, however, the trend has continued to happen in other cities, including Chandler, about a 30-minute drive from Phoenix.
Another family, which hasn’t gone forward publicly, has been targeted several times as a result of the trend, according to Chandler Police Detective Zachary Odom.
“A group of juveniles arrived at a specific house and targeted them about 18 times,” said Odom.
So far, charges have been submitted against three teens who were seen in the video attacking the home.
“So the couple was terrified to the point where, in the end, they did move out of the residence,” said Odom.
The detective added that the family was scared and wasn’t sure if someone was trying to break into the home.
The teens who attacked the home didn’t know the couple and were unaware that the residence had been targeted so many times.
Odom said the teens could face several charges, including criminal damage, disorderly conduct, and harassment.
The U.S. Sun has reached out to the Chandler Police Department for comment.
