TikTok 'Door Kick Challenge' Prompts Warning From South Bay Police Department

MANHATTAN BEACH, CA — An ongoing TikTok trend called the "Door Kick Challenge" has prompted a warning from the Manhattan Beach Police Department and other law enforcement agencies nationwide.

The challenge, which appears to be a spin on the old school "ding dong ditch" prank, encourages people to kick and pound on a residential door before running away.

It's unclear if there have been any cases of kids doing the "Door Kick Challenge" in Manhattan Beach. But police say some kids ran up to the door of a home in the 2800 block of Maple Avenue early Monday morning and kicked the door twice before running away. The door was damaged in the process, according to the Manhattan Beach Police Department.

"That was the only case that we saw," Manhattan Beach Police Department Sgt. Andy Abreu told Patch. I can't definitely say these are the TikTok challenge kids, but it was the M.O."

On Thursday, the department issued an alert to parents, asking them to speak with their children about the dangers of the challenge and the "criminal implications of causing property damage."

Although this may not have been the case with the children kicking the door earlier in the week, Abreu thought the department should take a preemptive measure against the TikTok challenge, which he says is happening nationwide.

"I don't want some poor mom saying my kid was playing a prank and something bad happened to them," Abreu said.

Police in other cities around the country, such as Atlanta and New Jersey, have also issued similar warnings. The South Fulton Police Department in Georgia called the challenge "dangerous" and said some residents might respond in fear, "potentially escalating the situation into a dangerous confrontation."

The TikTok challenge has been around since at least last year. The Eureka Police Department highlighted the issue in a press release on April 3, 2023, after a group of kids kicked and pounded a front door in the city and ran away.

The kids in that case were reprimanded after being identified in surveillance camera footage.

“This is a foolish and dangerous 'Challenge' for the youth of our community that could have severe consequences and potentially lead to someone getting injured or killed," the Eureka Police Department saidat the time. "This isn’t like the old time Ding-Doing-Ditch prank, this prank may get you killed.”