Viral ‘door kick’ challenge hits Topeka homes as police issue warning

TOPEKA (KSNT) – Police are issuing a warning to Topeka residents as they see an uptick in local children participating in a viral social media challenge that could have disastrous results.

Russell Klumpp with the Topeka Police Department (TPD) issued a statement on Friday, Aug. 1 through the TPD’s Facebook page. He said police are seeing a rise in local children and teens participating in behavior consistent with a social media challenge originating from the platform TikTok.

“This TikTok challenge is currently referred to as the door-kick challenge where young people are encouraged to kick the doors of random houses and then they run away,” Klumpp said.

Klumpp said there are two crimes that come into play with this challenge. He said charges of disorderly conduct and criminal damage both can apply to people caught participating in the door-kick challenge.

“Those charges both could apply in these situations, so there’s a criminal element,” Klumpp said. “More disturbing however, and the reason for this safety message, is the dangers that are associated with conduct in these challenges. So, when you go to a random residence and you start kicking on the door, residents inside can easily mistake that for an attempted burglary, somebody trying to break into their home and cause them harm.”

Klumpp said participants in the challenge may be harmed by residential homeowners who are unfamiliar with the viral social media and may respond with acts of violence against a perceived intruder. He said there are reported situations in other parts of the nation where challenge participants have been seriously hurt or killed.

“None of these things are worth risking your safety to do,” Klumpp said.

The TPD is asking for people in the community to be aware of the social media challenge and is encouraging local parents to have a chat with their children about the potentially dangerous activity. Klumpp said it is important to take action now to prevent a possible tragedy from happening in the future.

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