Yet another TikTok challenge has resulted in some deadly consequences…
An off-duty corrections officer, Dion Middleton, has been charged with murder, as well as manslaughter and criminal possession of a weapon, after fatally shooting 18-year-old Raymond Chaluisant, who was using a toy water gun to complete the viral “Orbeez Challenge.” In case you didn’t know, it is basically a challenge where people use a toy that fires gel or water-filled pellets out of moving cars.
According to authorities the tragic incident went down at around 1 a.m. on Thursday in New York when a group of teens was firing the water gel pellets from inside a vehicle. Middleton was struck by one of the pellets suddenly. However, he thought he was hit by an actual gun. The officer then fired several rounds at the car with a real weapon, striking the car’s back window at one point and shooting Chaluisant in the face.
Related: More Parents Sue TikTok Following Their Daughters’ Deaths From ‘Blackout Challenge’
According to The Sun, the New York Police Department said cops arrived at 1:35 a.m. at the Grand Concourse and East Tremont Avenue in Mount Hope and discovered Chaluisant “unconscious with a gunshot wound to his face” in the passenger seat of a silver Acura. However, that ended up being a half mile away from where the fatal shooting actually took place at Cross Bronx Expressway and Morris Ave. What?!
The teenager was soon rushed to St. Barnabas Hospital, but he sadly succumbed to his injuries. So awful…
Following the news of the TikToker’s death, his older sister Jiraida Esquilin told The Daily News that he was only taking part in a water gun fight with some of his friends during one of the hottest days in New York. She said:
“I can’t believe a corrections officer killed my brother. Everything nowadays is a rage thing. They were just having fun. It’s a new nerf gun that shoots water. The whole neighborhood was having a water gun fight. It was 90 degrees.”
She added:
“My brother was well known and well-loved by everyone in that neighborhood. He was just hanging out and having a good time.”
This wasn’t the first tragedy for their family either. The 29-year-old explained that her loved ones were already grieving the loss of her father, who passed away five months ago. She added that her mother was not able to identify her own mortally wounded son after he was shot at close range in the chin.
Her family also does not know who Chaluisant was with at the time of the incident, but he apparently told his mom he was just going to McDonald’s. The NYPD later shared that the driver of the vehicle was a 22-year-old friend of Chaluisant from Yonkers. Cops also made it clear that it is unknown who the kid was aiming at during the incident.
Meanwhile, Middleton reportedly went to work at the NYPD shooting range, where he worked in training, following the shooting. Police ended up tracking down his vehicle through surveillance footage and immediately arrested him. Esquilin said:
“He went and clocked in. He’s a 45-year-old man. Raymond could’ve been his son. What a coward.”
It is just terrible what went down here. Our hearts go out to Raymond’s family.
Reactions, Perezcious readers?
[Image via TikTok, CBS New York/Youtube]
