“Prank videos,” in which people are pranked in order to film their reactions and make them public, are growing in popularity on YouTube. Such a prank went horribly wrong and ended up in the hospital for the prankster.
What kind of YouTuber is this? Tanner Cook, 21, is a member of the YouTube group Classified Goons. On their Channel with 41,000 subscribers they describe themselves as “just a bunch of blockheads”.
The videos of the Classified Goons consist mainly of pranks. In their most successful video, they teamed up with the controversial YouTuber JiDion and drew people’s attention to their own cameraman, along the lines of: Look, someone is filming you!
The pranks are usually harmless, but the videos thrive on producing a reaction from the victims. So wear one Video the title: “Angry guy storms the camera”. Now a reaction went too far: the target of the prank pulled out a gun and shot the 21-year-old YouTuber in the stomach.
Cook: “I just played a simple prank”
How did the shots come about? Cook was reportedly shot while filming Classified Goons at the Dulles Town Center mall in Sterling, Virginia. He is said to have been hit in the stomach and liver.
The Classified Goons’ target was said to be 31-year-old Alan W. Colie. However, he didn’t get upset, but wordlessly drew his gun and fired.
How is the YouTuber? Cook was taken to the local hospital for surgery. In an exclusive interview with news channel WUSA9, Cook said he was fine. He seems to be taking the whole thing quite lightly:
I’m doing well. I was just playing a prank, a simple joke, and this guy didn’t take it well and shot me.
Tanner Cook via my city
But the 21-year-old doesn’t want to stop: Posting videos is his passion, Cook told the news channel, and he plans to return to YouTube. He is expected to make a full recovery from his injuries.
What happens to the shooter? The alleged perpetrator was arrested at the scene. He is being investigated for aggravated intentional bodily harm, use of a firearm in committing a crime, and discharging a firearm in a building.
An investigator from the Lake County Sherriff’s Office told the US side my city:
We have the shooter in custody. We cannot release the victim’s name or the fact that the victim has a social media presence, which you may already know. We can only provide limited information, but the victim is still in the hospital.
The video of the incident was handed over to investigators. A preliminary court hearing in the case has been set for early May.
It’s not the first time a prank in the US has ended in gunfire. In 2017, a 28-year-old was shot after two CoD players got into an argument and one wanted to send the police over to the other for fun. 5 years later the case was settled:
Swatting: 28-year-old shot dead over $2 Call of Duty bet – Now family gets $5 million
