A homeowner was arrested on a murder charge after authorities say he shot and killed an 18-year-old in Spotsylvania County, Virginia. The teen’s friends told investigators the man opened fire as the teens recorded themselves pulling a prank for a TikTok video.
Tyler Chase Butler, 27, was arrested and accused of second-degree murder, malicious wounding and use of a firearm in commission of a felony, the county sheriff’s office said Tuesday.
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WATCH HEREButler is accused of killing Michael Bosworth Jr., a senior at Massaponax High School. He played lacrosse and football, and wrestled, his heartbroken stepfather told News4.
As News4 reported after the shooting at about 3 a.m. Saturday, the homeowner told investigators Bosworth and two other teens were trying to break into his home on McKenzie Lane. The sheriff’s office received a call about a residential burglary in progress in which a resident had fired shots. Bosworth was taken to a hospital, where he died.
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One of the other teens, who was grazed by a bullet, told detectives they weren’t breaking in to steal anything. The teen said they were recording ding-dong ditch pranks for TikTok videos – ringing doorbells and then running away.
A detective tracked down the third teen, who was not shot. That teen gave the same account and offered their phone to show a similar video shot earlier that night.
Bosworth was shot hours before his school's prom.
Butler was being held without bond at the Rappahannock Regional Jail. Anyone with potentially relevant information is asked to contact the sheriff’s office.
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