Man Slaps Child in Face After Mistaking Him for Ding-Dong Ditch Suspect (Video)

A disturbing video out of Hawaii is going viral after a man was caught on camera slapping a child in the face after mistakenly accusing him of playing ding-dong ditch.

The incident happened Jan. 8 at a residential complex in Ewa Beach, according to Island News, and ultimately led to police being called and an assault report involving a minor.

Footage of the confrontation was posted to X on Jan. 10 and has since racked up nearly 2 million views. In the clip, a young boy is seen standing in a parking lot, calmly insisting he did nothing wrong, when a grown man suddenly slaps him across the face.

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The situation escalates quickly. The man grabs the child’s backpack and physically prevents him from leaving as the boy begins crying and repeatedly asks, “What did I do?”

According to Island News, the man and his wife believed the child was part of a group that had been knocking on doors and running away throughout the complex over the previous two days. The couple also claimed that a different child had just run off with the woman’s phone shortly before the confrontation.

But the child they confronted was the wrong one.

As the boy cries hysterically, his friend — who is filming the encounter — repeatedly challenges the adults, yelling, “Why are you slapping him?” and “He didn’t do anything to you!” The friend refuses to back down, demanding to know why a grown man is hitting a child.

Despite the protests, the couple continues grappling with the boy for several minutes. The man clutches the child’s hand and backpack in an apparent attempt to detain him, seemingly unaware of the serious legal consequences of his actions. The video ends with the man still holding onto the crying child as he pleads, “I want to go home.”

The Honolulu Police Department later responded to the scene and classified the incident as an assault. However, according to Island News, the child’s family ultimately chose not to press charges.

The video has sparked intense backlash online. While a small number of commenters defended the slap as justified, the overwhelming response has been outrage.

Many viewers criticized the man for resorting to violence and for assuming guilt by association. Comments ranged from calls for accountability to threats of legal action, with some saying the man was “lucky” it wasn’t their child.

Island News reported that since the video went viral, the couple has received threats and filed a police report regarding the allegedly stolen phone. The woman also claimed her toe was broken during an earlier altercation involving the child who allegedly took her phone — not the boy shown being slapped in the video.