Instagram Pranksters Pretend To Spill Coronavirus On New York Subway

A pair of Instagram pranksters sparked a mixture of laughter and panic on the New York subway after dressing up in hazmat suits and pretending to spill coronavirus on the train.

Footage from on board the carriage shows 17-year-old David Flores and 19-year-old Morris Cordewell sat on the train in Brooklyn at the end of last month with a box containing an orange liquid and labelled with 'WARNING' and hazard symbols.

The pair can be heard telling passengers that the box contains the deadly virus, but reassure travellers that they shouldn't panic. Morris can then be seen lifting the lid off the box before falling and spilling the liquid all over the floor of the carriage.

At this point, many travellers can be seen screaming and running away, while others nearby laugh along, seemingly well aware that it's just a prank.

Speaking to Insider, Morris said: "The first half people were kinda scared. After we were like 'yo it's a prank,' people were laughing.

"There was one lady with her kids sitting next to me just laughing the whole time. I don't know how she knew it was a joke, but she knew it was a joke the whole time."

A spokesperson for the New York City MTA - the agency which operates the city's 27 subway lines - told Insider it wasn't aware of the video until the news website asked about it.

Instagram/Morris Cornbread

It may not be believable that the coronavirus would be transported on a train, but the pranksters can probably consider themselves lucky that anyone at all was amused by the joke, given the virus has now killed 1,113 people in mainland China.

Police certainly didn't see the funny side of a coronavirus prank on a metro train in Moscow on Monday, with the man responsible arrested on suspicion of criminal hooliganism and facing five years in prison if convicted.

Footage shared online shows the man in a mask stumbling and collapsing on the carriage before appearing to suffer convulsions.

A Russia's interior ministry spokesperson said: "Accomplices shouted phrases about the presence of a dangerous viral infection... provoking a panic among passengers."

According to Russian news site Gazeta, a lawyer representing the suspect said: "He is in shock. He came of his own accord, he didn't hide. He did not expect all this. The interrogating officer himself stated that the case will probably be dismissed."

Topics: Viral, Instagram, coronavirus, US News

Jake Massey

Jake Massey is a journalist at LADbible. He graduated from Newcastle University, where he learnt a bit about media and a lot about living without heating. After spending a few years in Australia and New Zealand, Jake secured a role at an obscure radio station in Norwich, inadvertently becoming a real-life Alan Partridge in the process. From there, Jake became a reporter at the Eastern Daily Press. Jake enjoys playing football, listening to music and writing about himself in the third person.

@jakesmassey