Tanner Cook, a 21-year-old YouTuber, was hospitalised after a prank turned violent in a Virginia mall.
A fight broke out between him and the target of the practical joke – Alan Colie, a stranger before the incident – who allegedly pulled out a gun and shot Cook, sending him to intensive care for several days.
Cook told local news, “I was playing a prank and a simple practical joke, and this guy didn’t take it very well and he shot me.”
Colie has been 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 footage of the prank, filmed by one of Cook’s friends, was meant for uploading on his 40,000 subscriber-strong channel, but is now evidence in the case.
Jeramy Cook, father of the shooting victim, said, “They were making a video at the mall and trying to have fun with people and this guy wasn’t having fun.
“There was a phone that was around him and they were interviewing or talking to him, and he didn’t like it and he pulled out his gun and shot my son.”
Despite the incident, Cook says he has no plans to stop playing practical jokes on strangers. While his prank may have gone too far, the incident serves as a reminder that jokes can have serious consequences.
[Image via YouTube / @classifiedgoons]