Overview

• Michael Bosworth Jr., an 18-year-old high school senior, was fatally shot on May 3 while filming a TikTok prank with friends in Fredericksburg, Virginia.
• Homeowner Tyler Chase Butler, 27, told police he believed the teens were attempting to break into his house and fired on them, killing Bosworth and wounding another teen.
• Surviving teens claim they were participating in a ding-dong-ditch prank, providing phone footage to investigators to support their account.
• Butler has been charged with second-degree murder, malicious wounding, and firearms offenses, and is being held without bond at Rappahannock Regional Jail.
• The case raises questions about the application of Virginia’s castle doctrine, which permits lethal force if a homeowner reasonably fears imminent harm.