New details have been released in the case of an 11-year-old boy who police say was killed while playing “ding dong ditch” in Houston on Saturday.
Gonzalo Leon Jr., 42, was booked into jail on Tuesday morning and charged with one count of murder, according to police.
He was ordered to be held on US$1-million bond after prosecutors said they were considering bringing more serious charges against him, according to the Houston Chronicle.
Leon made his first appearance in front of District Judge Emily Detoto on Wednesday morning, when she set his bond at $1 million.
Detoto said she set the bond at that amount because of the possibility that more serious charges could be brought against Leon, including capital murder. His next court date is in October.
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Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare said the bond was appropriate because of the brutality of the shooting.
“It’s an appropriate bond to protect the community from someone who obviously has very little regard for life of any kind,” Teare said.
“This was someone brutally murdering an 11-year-old simply because they were mad,” Teare continued, according to Fox 26 Houston. “We have a little boy who didn’t even have a chance to get his life going yet, struck down for nothing.”
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“He just shot him down in the street and went about his business,” Teare added. “What you can never do is discharge your firearm out of anger, ever. When things like that happen, tragedies like this occur.”
The 11-year-old boy, Julian Guzman, and a cousin had been attending a birthday party Saturday night when they “became bored and wanted to ring doorbells, or play ‘ding dong ditch,’” according to a probable cause affidavit. The prank involves ringing a doorbell or knocking on a door and fleeing before someone inside opens the door.
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Guzman’s cousin told investigators he and Guzman knocked several times on Leon’s door and ran away.
Houston police Sgt. Michael Cass told CBS News that Leon was “waiting in the shadows in his own side yard behind a fence” after Guzman and his cousin ran away the first time.
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The final time Guzman and his cousin knocked, Leon allegedly emerged holding a pistol that he fired once into the ground. He then raised the pistol and fired at Guzman and his cousin, according to the affidavit.
“Our witness says the suspect … ran out into the street and was firing down the road,” Cass told reporters on Sunday.
Guzman’s cousin told authorities that Guzman “cried out in pain that he had been shot,” according to the affidavit. As Guzman’s cousin was trying to drag the 11-year-old boy away, Leon slowly walked back to his house.
Guzman was taken to hospital in critical condition and pronounced dead on Sunday, according to police.
“In my opinion, it doesn’t look like any type of self-defence. It wasn’t close to the house,” Cass said.
Teare said that “in our day, when I was growing up, you didn’t get murdered for playing ding dong ditch.”
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Police found about 20 firearms in Leon’s home, including AR-style rifles, shotguns and medium-calibre pistols.
A makeshift memorial has been set up with a cross, prayer candles, flowers and a photo of Guzman about a half a block away from Leon’s house, where the boy collapsed after being shot.
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Messages were written on the cross, including, “I miss you Julian” and “I love you Julian. You will always be in my heart. Rest In Peace Baby Mom.”
A makeshift memorial for 11-year-old Julian Guzman, who was shot and killed during a doorbell prank, is shown Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025, in Houston.
AP Photo / David J. Phillip
Guzman’s family has started a GoFundMe to raise money following his death.
“I will forever love you my boy. You’re gone but never forgotten. We will seek justice for YOU,” Guzman’s mother, Janet Rodriguez, wrote.
The GoFundMe post has raised more than $21,000 of its goal of $24,000 from more than 400 donations as of Wednesday afternoon.
A similar situation took place in May when a Virginia homeowner was arrested on a murder charge after police say he shot and killed an 18-year-old high school senior when a TikTok prank went wrong.
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Michael Bosworth Jr., 18, was taken to a local hospital, where he died from his injuries. Police later identified the suspect as Tyler Butler, 27, in an updated release.
He was arrested on charges of second-degree murder, malicious wounding and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony in Bosworth’s death. He is currently in jail without bond and his next court date is Sept. 17.
— With files from The Associated Press
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