Popular YouTuber Tanner Cook, known for his prank videos, almost had his last laugh after one of his attempted pranks backfired, as he was shot by an unamused person while recording one of videos in a Washington DC mall.
Cook, known via his YouTube Channel –“Classified Goons,” found out the hard way on Sunday, that not everyone shares his brand of humor, after a man to whom he went for content, took a more sinister response to his antics and opened fire.
In a statement by The Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office in Virginia, they said a 31-year-old, Alan W. Colie was arrested for allegedly shooting the 21-year-old Cook, at Dulles Town Center Mall Food Court.
The shooting, which is said to have been caught on camera by his friend, sent the Mall into a panic as shoppers scrambled for safety following the incident.
It’s understood that Colie was charged with aggravated malicious wounding, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, and discharging a firearm within a building.
Speaking to local media after receiving treatment in the hospital, Cook explained the sequence of events leading up to the attack.
“I was playing a prank and a simple practical joke, and this guy didn’t take it very well,” Cook said, adding that the shooter didn’t say anything to him.
Footage from the video is now being used as evidence in the investigation.
“Classified Goons” are known for playing pranks in public, such as; taking people’s groceries from their shopping carts or pretending to vomit in an Uber, and filming the reactions for YouTube.
It however, remains unclear the nature of the prank by Cook that prompted the assault.
Cook’s father, Jeramy Cook, speaking to the media defended his son.
He noted that the antics were just for laughs and didn’t warrant such a harsh reaction
“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,” he told a news outlet.
Despite the near-death experience, Tanner Cook is reportedly adamant about continuing his pranks.
