Man tackled children off bikes, dragged 1 into his home after being ding dong ditched for weeks, police say

MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. (WCSC/Gray News) — A man in South Carolina is facing charges after police said he attacked children who were ding dong ditching him for weeks.

Mount Pleasant police said Chad Larsen, 50, is charged with kidnapping, assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature, and assault and battery in the third degree.

Police said the incident happened Monday afternoon.

Larsen reportedly told police that two weeks ago, a group of children started ringing his doorbell and running away. Sometime during those two weeks, Larsen said he drove around to try to track down the children.

Larsen was woken up from a nap Monday and was told that the children were outside and wanted to speak with him, a police report said. He went outside under the assumption that the children wanted to apologize, but Larsen said that they used the opportunity to “taunt” him before taking off on bikes.

When he realized the children were coming back, Larsen hid in his neighbor’s bush to wait until they got close enough for him to tackle them off their bikes, police said.

Two children were knocked off their bikes, and Larsen held them on the ground, the report said. One of the children was able to break free.

Larsen told police he grabbed the other child by the neck and arm and dragged him into his home.

According to the police report, Larsen was holding a rock while holding the child and told the child, “I should hit you with this rock.” He told police he did not hit the child with the rock.

When police got to the scene, officers saw Larsen holding onto the child through a closed glass door. The handle had been broken off, and an officer had to retrieve it to open the door and detain Larsen.

Officers called emergency medical services for the child. It is unclear if the child was hurt.

Police said Larsen cooperated with officers.

“He told me that he knows what he did was wrong, but he continued to speak as though the juveniles were the ones doing wrong,” an officer wrote in the police report.

Court records show that a judge did not set bond. Larsen was being held at the Al Cannon Detention Center.