Over the weekend, a 21-year-old man was shot and wounded while making a video for his prank-focused YouTube channel at a mall in Virginia.
Tanner Cook was shot in the stomach and brought to the intensive care unit.
According to the authorities, Cook was shot by Alan Colie, 31, of Leesburg, Virginia. Multiple crimes have now been brought against Colie.
On camera, deputies from Loudoun County can be seen making their way towards Colie as he lies on the ground to arrest him.
Cook’s father, Jeramy Cook, said his son was making a prank video for his YouTube page.
“They had a phone that was in his face, and they were trying to do a Google Translate prank,” Jeramy Cook said. “I’m sure they were saying something to him that wasn’t, you know, making him laugh or he wasn’t enjoying it. And so, he got mad and he shot my son.”
Cook acknowledged some of his son’s videos can be a little on the edge but said he’s never attacked anyone.
“I know that sometimes in having fun that things go too far, but you know, he’s not physically hurting anybody,” Cook said. “He’s just trying to be a goofball.”
Attorney Christopher Brown said the defendant may assert that he felt like he was being abused in regards to whether Cook had lawfully violated any bounds.
“It’s not the worst argument in the world when someone approaches you and reaches out at you with an object in their hand,” Brown said. “You know, officers use this all the time as a defense in police shooting cases: ‘When he pulled his hand out, I thought it was a gun, but it was a cellphone.’”
Tanner Cook is not currently facing any charges, although prosecutors may decide to do so.
“I’m trying to lead by example here and say that I forgive the guy that shot my son,” Jeramy Cook told the shooting suspect.
He claimed his kid will put his rehabilitation first for the time being and stop watching YouTube.
