A YouTube prankster has wound up fighting for his life in intensive care after a joke turned sour.
Tanner Cook was playing what he called a 'simple prank' on a stranger inside a Virginia mall in the US.
The 21-year-old was filming a video at the Dulles Town Center mall when a fight broke out between him and another man in the food court.
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While it is not clear what the prank actually was, it seems Alan Colie, 31, of Leesburg, Virginia, didn't take too kindly to it.
Whatever it was, it ended with Cook being admitted to intensive care after Colie allegedly opened fire at the jokester in the middle of the busy mall.
Cook spent several days fighting for his life in hospital after a bullet pierced his stomach and liver.
According to WUSA9, police arrested Colie on Sunday (April 2) over the incident.
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He was charged with aggravated malicious wounding, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, and discharging a firearm within a building.
Sheriff Mike Chapman revealed the gunfire sparked panic inside the mall after the fight broke out between the two men.
Cook, who has since undergone surgery in the wake of the gun attack, spoke to WUSA9 from his hospital bed.
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He revealed he was messing with Colie for a video for his YouTube account Classified Goons, which boasts more than 40,000 subscribers.
"I was playing a prank and a simple practical joke, and this guy didn't take it very well and he shot me," the content creator said.
One of Cook's friends was filming the prank when Colie allegedly pulled out his gun and opened fire.
That footage is now part of the evidence prosecutors hope to use to convict Colie of his alleged crimes.
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Cook revealed what happened in the moments before Colie allegedly opened fire.
"He didn’t say anything to me," the 21-year-old said.
Despite the prank, Cook's father, Jeramy, slammed the man who allegedly shot his son."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."
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The 21-year-old YouTuber revealed from his hospital bed he has no plans to stop playing practical jokes on strangers.
Topics: News, YouTube, Social Media
Rachel Lang