“SOMEONE WAS BREAKING INTO OUR HOUSE AND I HAD TO PROTECT MY MOTHER”!!! BELIEVE IT OR NOT, PROSECUTORS SAY 27-YEAR-OLD TYLER CHASE BUTLER CONFRONTED THREE TEENAGERS OVER A DOORBELL PRANK AND FIRED 10 SHOTS… AND A JURY HAS NOW CONVICTED HIM OF SECOND-DEGREE MURDER IN THE DEATH OF AN 18-YEAR-OLD HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR.
A Virginia man has been found guilty of second-degree murder in the fatal shooting of an 18-year-old high school student, according to reports.
The shooting took place after the student and his friends pulled a “ding dong ditch” TikTok prank.
Tyler Chase Butler, 27, was convicted in connection with the May 2025 shooting that killed Michael Bosworth Jr., WUSA9 reported.
Jurors also convicted Butler of attempted second-degree murder.
He was found guilty of malicious wounding.
The jury further convicted him of the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony.
Butler was also found guilty of unlawfully shooting into an occupied dwelling.
During the morning of May 3, 2025, Bosworth was with two other teenagers.
The three were participating in a “Ding Dong Ditch” TikTok challenge, according to what the two other teens later told detectives.
The challenge involved kicking a person’s door and immediately running away, the TV station reported.
At Butler’s trial, the two surviving teens testified about the sequence of events.
The teens said they banged on the garage door of Butler’s neighbor, DC News Now reported.
They reportedly entered Butler’s yard as they ran away, according to the report.
Video footage of the confrontation was later shown in court.
According to the video footage presented at trial, the 27-year-old Butler stepped outside his home while armed to confront the three teens.
Butler then fired 10 shots, according to the news outlet.
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The gunfire struck Bosworth.
The shots also struck another teenager, who sustained “minor injuries,” the Spotsylvania Sheriff’s Office said in a May 6, 2025, news release.
Bosworth was taken to a nearby hospital following the shooting.
He died of his injuries at the hospital, according to the sheriff’s office release.
Bosworth was a senior at Massaponax High School in Fredericksburg when he died, per WUSA9.
He wanted to join the U.S. Marine Corps upon graduation, his stepfather told the TV station.
But Butler has maintained that he opened fire in self-defense, NBC4 Washington reported.
He stated that he and his mother feared someone was breaking into their residence.
Following Butler’s May 2025 arrest, his legal representation issued a statement on behalf of his family.
The statement was released by Robinson Law PLLC, the law firm representing Butler.
“Our family is united in support of Tyler Chase Butler, who acted out of a genuine fear for his safety and the safety of his mother,” Butler’s family said in the statement.
“Tyler found himself in an unimaginable situation, forced to protect his home and his loved ones in the early hours of the morning,” the statement continued.
“We are aware of the profound loss experienced by the loved ones of the young man who lost his life.”
“Our thoughts are with them during this difficult time.”
And following the jury’s verdict, the local prosecutor released a statement regarding the case.
“Murder is a trauma that does not end, but I pray the family of the deceased victim finds some solace in the jury’s verdict,” Spotsylvania County Commonwealth’s attorney Ryan Mehaffey said in a statement to NBC4 Washington in the wake of Butler’s conviction.
Butler’s sentencing is set for October 30.
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