(WWJ) Authorities want the public to know about a dangerous fad that's been circulating on social media.
In the "door kick challenge," teens run up to the garage door or front door of a home in the middle of the night and try to kick it in, while recording it all to post on TikTok.
Police say this is not a joke, and that the trend is scaring residents and leaving homes with thousands of dollars in damage.
In Macomb County, sheriff's office commander Jason Abro said this has happened at least half-a-dozen times, with all of those incidents now under investigation.
Abro said when this happens late at night, residents don't think it's a joke, and it can cause a real panic.
He's asking parents to talk with their kids about the seriousness of these dangerous TikTok trends.
"The consequences of this is that these kids don't understand it," Abro said in an interview with WWJ Newsradio 950's Luke Sloan. "They might feel that this is funny, and they might feel that they're posting something on social media. But, depending on the circumstances of these situations, these juveniles are facing potential serious criminal charges: damage to property, disorderly conduct and other offenses that we may have."
Abro said investigating "door kick challenge" incidents is taking deputies away from other serious public safety concerns.
"We're pulling police officers from possibly a life-changing matter, you know, serious accidents, to where someone is calling us and telling us someone's breaking into our home and we need the police here now," Abro said. "And then we come to find out, rushing to these scenes, that it's just a bunch of kids banging on their garage doors."
Despite all of that, Abro said police absolutely do want residents to report these incidents.
If this happens to you, Abro said do not confront the teens, just call 911 right away.
