VIDEO: YouTuber, Tanner Cook, was making a prank video in a Virginia mall and was shot by prankee

YouTuber Tanner Cook was making a prank video in a Virginia mall and was shot by the person he was pranking. (Read More Here).

A 21-year-old man said he was recording a practical joke for his YouTube channel in a mall in Dulles, Virginia, when a prankee got mad and shot him in the abdomen.

Tanner Cook, a prankster on the YouTube page Classified Goons, was in intensive care on Sunday after a bullet pierced his stomach and liver, according to the CBS News affiliate station WUSA. (Read More Here).

He remains in a hospital following surgery.

Speaking to WUSA from his hospital bed, Cook said: “I was playing a prank, a simple practical joke, and this guy didn’t take it very well and shot me.”

Cook, whose YouTube account has almost 40,000 subscribers, regularly posts videos of him playing pranks on unsuspecting members of the public.

Previous videos show him going behind the counter at a fast-food restaurant, trailing strangers in stores, and pretending to vomit on Uber drivers.

In earlier videos his victims became aggressive and even called the police

But on Sunday Cook got his most shocking response yet. He and his friend were recording a prank video near the Cheesecake Factory in Dulles Town Center mall’s food court when the suspect, Alan Colie, allegedly pulled out a semi-automatic pistol and shot him.

Cook’s family told WUSA the footage is now part of the evidence against Colie, 31, who was charged with aggravated malicious wounding, shooting in the commission of a felony, and discharging firearms within an occupied building.

Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release that it doesn’t appear that the suspect and the victim knew each other previously.

Colie appeared in court on Monday and has a preliminary hearing scheduled for May. He’s being held without bond at the Loudoun County Adult Detention Center, the sheriff’s office said.

Cook was not publicly identified by name by police, but court documents identify him as the victim of the shooting.

Despite his injuries, Cook told WUSA that he intends to continue making prank videos. Alan W. Colie, 31, of Leesburg, was arrested and charged with aggravated malicious wounding, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, and discharging a firearm within a building, the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office said. The shooting unfolded at the Dulles Town Center Mall Food Court Sunday morning as a result of “an interaction between the victim and Colie.” 

The sheriff’s office said it received the first call reporting that a shooting had occurred at the Dulles Town Center mall in Sterling, Virginia, at approximately 11:57 a.m. Deputies quickly responded, arriving on the scene within three minutes of the call, the department said. “Deputies immediately entered the mall and took the suspect in custody at approximately 12:02 p.m.,” the press release said. “One adult male victim was found outside the mall with a gunshot wound to the abdomen. The victim was treated for injuries by deputies and members of the Loudoun County Combined Fire and Rescue System (LC-CFRS) and transported to a local hospital for treatment. At this time, it does not appear that the suspect and the victim were known to each other.” Officials arrested and charged Colie on Sunday with aggravated malicious wounding, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony and discharging a firearm within a building.

Sheriff Mike Chapman said the shooting was a result of a fight that broke out in the food court between both men. The gunfire caused panic among mallgoers.

A video recorded by Instagram user @thisismyu5ername captured Colie being arrested on the ground.

As the investigation continues, Cook spoke exclusively to WUSA9 from his hospital bed after undergoing surgery. Cook, a content creator for the YouTube page Classified Goons, said he was playing jokes with Colie for another video.

“I was playing a prank and a simple practical joke, and this guy didn’t take it very well,” said Tanner Cook.

Despite what led up to the gunfire, Tanner Cook’s father said the shooting was shocking and unnecessary. 

“They were making a video at the mall and trying to have fun with people and this guy wasn’t having fun,” added Jeramy Cook. “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.”

Tanner Cook stressed his family is relying on God and their faith to show support for his son. He even said he has no ill will, anger, or bitterness towards Colie.

“We need restoration, we need healing, and we need to come together,” said Jeramy Cook. “I pray for this young man and pray that he finds God in this. I believe that God saved our son’s life, and he could have easily died but that’s not the outcome. God has plans for my son.”

“It’s surreal,” said his grandfather Mike Cook. “It’s obviously been unnerving and some fear running in and out, but we live on faith and not fear.”

VIDEO HERE