A half-dozen young people are facing charges after damaging fences as part of a supposed TikTok "Kool-Aid Man" challenge on Long Island, authorities said.
According to Suffolk County police, a homeowner on Centereach's Cobblestone Court reported hearing loud noises Monday around 1 a.m. and noticed on surveillance cameras that six males had knocked down parts of his fence.
The homeowner, retired corrections officer Charles Damiani, was the target of the prank. He said that it "sounded like a gun go off," which is when he ran out in the middle of the night and spotted the vehicle the alleged culprits arrived in. That's when he noticed several sections of his fence missing, and security video showed the teens break right through it.
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Police said that members of the group were recording themselves blasting through the fence, and that Damiani's house was not the only one hit.
"On the night in question, it looks like four homes were hit and tied to these individuals," said Suffolk County Chief of Patrol Gerard Hardy, noting that the case is still under investigation.
The destructive stunt is part of a recent TikTok trend called the "Kool-Aid Man" Challenge, according to police. The point is to capture some of the madness in the popular Kool-Aid commercials from the 1970s and 80s. The videos show someone, not always a bright red someone, running into and destroying random walls and fences like the drink mascot.
About three hours later, as officers were taking a statement from Damiani, security video showed the same group return and break through yet another section of the fence while another person recorded them.
"This time it was another bang, I could hear it from upfront. That’s when I ran into the road and I jumped in front of the car and stopped them," said Damiani.
Police got all six males, who range in age from 12 to 18, out of the car. Their parents were called and the kids were ticketed for criminal mischief.
"They were just driving around kicking down fences. You’re 12 years old, you’re out at 3 o’clock in the morning — where are your parents?" Damiani asked.
A few weeks ago, Damiani said that his fence had been broken overnight, and now he believes it may have been the result of the same prank. Police are looking to discourage more young people from trying to replicate the stunt.
"This is a really bad decision, they shouldn’t be influenced by social media or their friends. It might seem fun and it might be a prank, but it’s criminal and they will be held accountable," said Chief Hardy.
The six who were ticketed were released on family court field appearance tickets and are expected to be arraigned early next month. Police are looking into whether they may be connected to at least two other instances of damaged fences in Centerach and Selden. No injuries have been reported in any of the cases.
A spokesperson for TikTok said they would need to see the video to fully comment, but that this has been debunked as a trend before.
The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to call 631-854-8652.
