‘Door-kick challenge’ frustrates B.C. homeowners - BERITAJA

It started arsenic a harmless prank by teenagers but a homeowner successful Nanaimo, B.C., says it escalated into spot damage, harassment and threats against the lives of his family members.

Marty Peters says his family is simply a unfortunate of a societal media inclination that involves aggressively kicking the doors of strangers’ homes, which has constabulary crossed Canada informing about the imaginable for vulnerable consequences.

“We had immoderate weird knocking connected the doorway and it was like, ‘What the heck’s going on?’ And past cipher was there. And it conscionable benignant of escalated from there,” Peters said successful an interview.

Police successful Nanaimo issued a connection this week aft receiving aggregate reports from fearful and disappointment homeowners, who opportunity groups of teenagers are pounding connected their doors precocious astatine nighttime and past moving away.

Across Canada, constabulary departments are issuing warnings about akin incidents, seemingly related to the online “door-kick challenge,” which has participants filming their exploits for societal media clout.

Peters said the knocking started past August but quickly grew from late-night knocks to dense bangs and kicks, the unit of which created a divided about the deadbolts connected his door.

By March, the kicking was happening aggregate times per week, usually about 11 p.m. In 1 instance, Peters’ terrified eight-year-old granddaughter thought group were breaking into the house.

When Peters and his woman confronted immoderate of the teens adjacent their home, he said they threatened to termination her.

Kylie Smallenberg was renting a location successful Nanaimo past twelvemonth erstwhile she heard a large bang precocious 1 night.

“We honestly thought a car had deed a powerfulness rod aliases something,” she said.

But doorbell footage showed their doorway had been kicked by teenagers wearing hoodies and balaclavas, and a station to a section Facebook group confirmed Smallenberg and her hubby were apt victims of the societal media challenge.

The unit of the effect cracked almost the full magnitude of the door, Smallenberg said.

“I felt very unsafe.”

Reserve Const. Gary O’Brien pinch the Nanaimo RCMP said the door-kick situation has posed an rumor for constabulary since early 2025.

The suspects reportedly caused thousands of dollars successful harm and mostly target homes successful the Departure Bay neighbourhood, O’Brien said successful an interview.

He said that while constabulary haven’t identified immoderate of the caller suspects by name, about look to beryllium teenagers from Wellington Secondary School successful Nanaimo, and constabulary are moving pinch the schoolhouse and its liaison officers to place them.

O’Brien added that constabulary haven’t laid immoderate charges against teenagers progressive successful past instances of doorway kicking, and those who they said to made it clear their purpose was societal media glory.

“They want to get their likes and group deliberation it’s cool, and they don’t recognize it’s a criminal offence, what they’re doing,” he said.

Besides the consequences to participants, immoderate door-kicking challenges and akin doorbell pranks person turned violent.

In the United States, an 11-year-old boy was fatally changeable successful the backmost aft playing a doorbell prank.

A Quebec female who scalded a 10-year-old boy pinch boiling h2o complete a akin incident was sentenced to 27 months successful situation successful January.

In Abbotsford, B.C., an 86-year-old man received a one-year driving prohibition aft moving into 2 teens pinch his conveyance who were playing a doorbell prank.

And successful 2023, a Courtenay, B.C., mates utilized travel ligament to return down a woman doing the door-kick situation astatine their home, starring to a beingness confrontation.

Peters said his older neighbours person injured themselves chasing aft door-kickers, and he’s heard from respective group who are acrophobic successful their ain homes.

Others, though, are taking measures into their ain hands by keeping shot bats and different items astatine their beforehand doors for protection, he said.

“These kids are putting themselves astatine consequence too, to get injured,” Peters said.

This study by BERITAJA was first published June 27, 2026.