JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. — A social media ‘challenge’ now has two kids facing criminal charges.
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The Atlantic Beach Police Department said a recent trend online shows people running up to a random home, kicking the door as hard as they can, and running away. The department posted to Facebook saying the incident occurred on Jackson Street, and there were several incidents around Jacksonville.
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“There was 3 loud bangs at the door,” Amanda Coats said. “My son was screaming. I was freaked out. I open up the back door because I was gonna’ run out the back door with my son, because I didn’t know what was going on.”
Amanda Coats was home alone with her one-year-old son on Saturday. She said the door was pushed open and she didn’t have anything to defend herself. She called the police immediately.
“They came and then we found out later that night [Saturday], they had hit five other houses,” Coats said.
Her doorbell camera showed two young people with towels covering their heads and faces kicking her door and running. There’s now a dent in her door. Coats also said she bought new locks.
RELATED STORY: ‘I don’t feel safe:’ Jacksonville neighbors frustrated over door kick-ins
Atlantic Beach Police told Action News Jax it was able to identify all the juveniles involved. As a result, a 12-year-old and a 13-year-old have been charged with criminal mischief for property damage.
“There’s people that have like families. There’s little kids in these houses. There’s people that are older and obviously people that have like PTSD like there’s so many factors that play into it,” Macy Ditto said.
Ditto lives down the street from Coats. She has two little ones who often play in her front room.
“If they did like kick a door open and it like hit her like how.. what am I supposed to do?” Ditto said, referencing her young daughter.
An Atlantic Beach PD spokesperson said if anyone had this happen to them and they have damage to contact police. Anything outside of Atlantic Beach should be directed to the appropriate jurisdiction.
“They [suspects] can do this to the wrong person and with the stand-your-ground laws they could have met with a different fate,” Coats said.
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