YouTuber Shot After Prank Goes Wrong

A YouTuber was shot after trying to prank another unsuspecting person at a mall. Social media has led to a lot of rather dangerous trends over the years like the Tide pod challenge, harassing people that you don’t know, and so on. In order to be the most viral and successful creators, a lot of people have gone to great lengths to have more and more extreme content. Some creators are smarter than others and do scripted content, so they don’t actually create any real danger for anyone involved, but some seek that thrill and organic interactions that come from unscripted content. Unfortunately, this has gotten a lot of people in trouble or even injured over the years.

YouTuber Tanner Cook, a member of the Classified Goons channel, was shot in the stomach and liver at the Dulles Town Center mall in Sterling, Virginia (via Kotaku). The YouTuber was pulling a prank on 31-year-old Alan W. Colie, but according to Cook, Colie didn’t even say anything before pulling a gun and firing it within the mall. Colie was arrested and charged with aggravated malicious wounding, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, and discharging a firearm within a building. The Loudon County Sherrif’s Office were thankfully able to respond quickly to the incident and found Cook outside of the mall with a gunshot wound and were able to secure the scene.

“One adult male victim was found outside the mall with a gunshot wound to the abdomen,” Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office said in a press release. “The victim was treated for injuries by deputies and members of the Loudoun County Combined Fire and Rescue System (LC-CFRS) and transported to a local hospital for treatment. At this time, it does not appear that the suspect and the victim were known to each other.”  

Cook noted he’s fine and is expected to make a full recovery following a recent surgery. He also noted this incident has not swayed him from doing more YouTube videos and he will return once he has made a recovery.Whether or not Cook will be more cautious about who he pranks or if the content will change remains to be seen.