A YouTuber from Virginia ended up in the hospital with gunshot wounds after he tried to prank a man in a local mall food court.
The Loudoun County Sheriff's Office received reports of shots fired at the Dulles Town Center in Sterling, Virginia, just before noon local time on Sunday, police said in a release.
Shooter Arrested and Charged: Cook in the ICU Following Surgery
Officers were at the mall within three minutes and found a man, identified as 21-year-old YouTuber Tanner Cook, shot in the stomach. He was treated on the scene before being rushed to a local hospital. He is currently in the ICU.
Cook remains in a hospital following surgery. His father, Jeramy Cook, told Insider his son's gallbladder was removed during surgery and that he'd been on heavy medication to deal with the pain. The elder Cook said he's hopeful that his son will recover.
Alan W. Colie, 31, was arrested on Sunday and charged with "aggravated malicious wounding, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, and discharging a firearm within a building," said police. "The shooting resulted from an interaction between the victim and Colie in the food court."
Colie is scheduled to appear in court Wednesday morning. He has been assigned a public defender. It's not clear who is representing him and can comment on his behalf.
Cook was Filming a 'Google Translate' Prank for His Channel 'Classified Goons'
YouTube channel, according to local news outlet WUSA9, who spoke with the social media personality from his hospital bed.
"I was playing a prank and a simple practical joke, and this guy didn't take it very well," Tanner told the news station. "He didn't say anything to me." Tanner's friend was getting footage of the prank and captured the moment Colie allegedly pulled out the gun. The video is included in evidence, Tanner's family said, per WUSA9.
The YouTuber's father also spoke about the incident, telling the outlet, "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."
Cook and his friend were filming videos for his YouTube channel "Classified Goons," in which he pulls pranks on people while his friend records the reactions. His father told Insider that a detective on the case told him that Cook's prank involved Google translate and Cook was "asking a guy some questions and had his phone in his face and he didn't appreciate it."
The channel has more than 40,000 subscribers and 37 videos. The videos show Cook pretending to throw up on Uber drivers, taking away rackets from Tennis players, stealing groceries from people and pretending to be urinate in a store to name a few.
