11-year-old boy killed in East Houston doorbell prank shooting

An 11-year-old boy died Sunday after he was shot late Saturday night while taking part in a doorbell prank in an east Houston neighborhood, police said. The boy, whose name has not been released, was ringing doorbells with a group of children on Racine Street around 11 p.m. on Aug. 30 when someone chased after him and fired, striking him multiple times, authorities said. He was transported to a hospital in critical condition and pronounced dead the following day.

Houston police said the child had been playing a game commonly called ding dong ditch or doorbell ditch, in which participants ring a doorbell and run away before the homeowner answers. A police spokesperson said investigators were continuing to piece together what happened and had not made an arrest as of Sunday evening. Other local accounts said one person was detained at the scene and later released, and footage circulated of officers bringing a handcuffed man to a home the next morning. Police have acknowledged those differing accounts and said their investigation remains active.

Sgt. Michael Cass, a homicide detective with the Houston Police Department, told investigators the shooting does not appear to be...