YouTuber responds after man who shot him after failed prank is found not guilty
Kit Roberts
Featured Image Credit: WUSA-TV / Loudoun County Sheriff
The YouTube prankster who was shot in the stomach while filming a video has spoken out after the shooter was acquitted.
`The video which played during the trial shows delivery driver Alan Colie, 31, pulling out a handgun and shooting YouTube prankster Tanner Cook, 21, in the stomach as he was filming a video for his channel, Classified Goons.
Luckily, Cook survived and Colie was subsequently found not guilty of aggravated malicious wounding and use of a firearm for aggravated malicious wounding by a jury last week.
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In the video, Cook can be seen walking towards Colie on 2 April at Dulles Town Center holding a phone around six inches from his face, which was playing a phrase on Google Translate.
Colie is backing away from Cook and bats the phone away before he returns the phone and continues walking towards him.
It's at this point that the video shows Colie pull out a small handgun and shoot Cook.
At no point did Cook touch him.
Colie pleaded not guilty to the charges, arguing that he had been acting in self-defence and he had been confused by the phrase that was playing, adding that the two had looked 'really cold and angry'.
And Cook has since responded to Colie being acquitted.
“I really don’t care. I mean it is what it is." he said.
According to Sky News, prosecutor Eden Homes argued that the facts of the case did not support the argument of self-defence as the law requires someone to reasonably fear that that they are in imminent danger of bodily harm, and to use no more force than necessary.
Homes also argued that the prank was bizarre but not threatening.
She said: "They were playing a silly phrase on a phone. How could the defendant have found that he was reasonably in fear of imminent bodily harm?"
However, his mom has said that she is just happy that her son is alive and well.
According to Inside Edition, she said: “That was the first time I’d seen the video. No mom wants to see their son be shot by a complete stranger.
“We respect what the jury says and my family and I are just grateful and thankful that I have my son here.”
But Cook's father has said that, in his opinion, the jury was wrong to acquit.
He told Inside Edition: “The 20-second video shows that in no way was his life on the line and he did not have to use deadly force.”
The prankster's YouTube channel shows stunts which include pretending to vomit on Uber drivers and following people through department stores.
Sheriffs had testified at a preliminary hearing that they were well aware of Cook and have previously received calls related to his stunts.
As for Cook, he has said that he will continue to make the videos.