21-year-old YouTuber, Tanner Cook. was shot inside the Dulles Town Center mall in Sterling Virginia on April, 1 while recording a prank video for his YouTube channel Classified Goons, when 31-year-old Alan Colie shot him through the liver and stomach with a semi-automatic pistol. Cook is now recovering in intensive care, and 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.


Cook’s channel has almost 40-thousand subscribers, and features pranks such as “Fake Mall Security,” “Accusing People of Stealing,” and “Asking Strangers to Play Naked Twister.”



“I was playing a prank and a simple practical joke,” Cook said while speaking to WUSA9, “and this guy didn't take it very well.” Sheriff Mike Chapman stated that the shooting occurred after a fight broke out between the two men. The nature of this prank has not been released.


Video of the incident was recorded by Cook’s friend and cameraman but is being held as evidence. A separate video was captured of Colie’s arrest.



Prank videos have launched countless internet celebrities to stardom, though if you don’t have the right experience,  pranking strangers in public can have some dangerous side effects. YouTuber Kanel Joseph was attacked in January after pretending to steal a man’s luggage, and a 12-year-old boy was pushed to the ground after throwing a dead snake at a car. The consequences of a prank gone wrong are sometimes minimal, and other times deadly.


Fortunately, Cook is expected to make a full recovery. “I believe that God saved our son's life,” Cook’s dad said. “God has plans for my son." Cook says he has no plans to stop making videos for Classified Goons anytime soon.