Two Teens Charged After Masked, Late-Night Door-Knocking Prank in New Castle County

Two teenagers have been charged after police say they knocked on residents' doors late at night in a New Castle County, Delaware, neighborhood while wearing masks and tactical vests, with one carrying what looked like a rifle. Police described the incident as a prank.

New Castle County Police announced Monday that a 16-year-old and a 17-year-old face charges of harassment, criminal mischief and criminal trespassing, CBS Philadelphia reported. According to FOX 29 and NBC10, each teen is charged with two misdemeanor counts of harassment, one misdemeanor count of criminal mischief and two violations of criminal trespassing.

Officers were called Friday night to the 1200 block of Canvasback Drive in the Mallard Pointe neighborhood after a report of a suspicious person. NBC10 put the call at about 10:50 p.m. on Oct. 9, while FOX 29 reported it as around 11 p.m.

Residents told police that someone in a black hockey-style mask and a tactical-style vest was walking up to homes holding what appeared to be a rifle, according to FOX 29 and NBC10. FOX 29 reported that the person knocked on doors and then ran off.

Accounts of how many people were involved differ slightly. NBC10 reported that residents saw four people in total knocking on doors before heading east on Mallard Road, two on bicycles and two on foot. FOX 29 described the masked individual fleeing along with four others, two walking and two riding bikes.

Officers, joined by a K9 unit according to NBC10, searched the neighborhood and nearby properties but did not find anyone that night.

On Sunday, Oct. 11, police received information that led them to identify two of the teens, the outlets reported. Officers then carried out a search warrant at one teen's home and recovered a gel bead gun, sometimes called an Orbeez gun, along with a tactical vest and a hockey-style mask, according to all three outlets. FOX 29's headline referred to Airsoft guns, though its report described the item recovered as a gel bead gun.

Investigators concluded that the teens were taking part in a prank and that no actual threats of violence were made, NBC10 and CBS Philadelphia reported. The episode alarmed neighbors in Mallard Pointe, according to CBS Philadelphia.

Police said an arraignment for the two teens is pending, CBS Philadelphia reported. The teens have not been named because they are minors, and both are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

Compiled by True News from reporting by CBS Philadelphia, FOX 29 Philadelphia and NBC10 Philadelphia. Each outlet's original story is linked below.

Originally published by True News: https://truenews.bagleyenterprises.net/stories/82