YouTube prank gone awry led to shooting at Virginia mall, victim's family says
Tanner Cook, a YouTube jokester with more than 40,000 followers, was at a Norther Virginia mall filming his latest bit this weekend when the stranger he was pranking suddenly shot him in the abdomen, Cook's relatives said Wednesday.
Cook, 21, is recovering in the hospital after surgeons removed his gallbladder, his family said. The Sunday shooting in the mall's food court sent shoppers running for the exits, a video posted on social media shows.
Loudoun County, Va., authorities have said Alan W. Colie, 31, shot Cook after a dispute, though police have not said what prompted it. The two men did not know each other, police said. Colie was charged with aggravated malicious wounding, using a firearm while committing a felony and discharging a firearm in a building. He remains in jail, court records show. Colie's public defender did not respond to requests for comment.
Cook moved to the area from Washington state with a group of friends and fellow YouTubers, "and they were all together when this happened," said his father, Jeramy Cook.
On their YouTube channel, "Classified Goons," Cook and his collaborators dress up as cashiers, clowns, security guards or as themselves. They attempt to get a rise out of strangers by putting them in awkward scenarios, the kind of unscripted comedy made famous by shows such as "Candid Camera."
One of the videos is titled "Barking in People's Ears Prank!" Another video shows the pranksters sleeping on display beds at various stores, as puzzled staff members urge them to leave.
According to his family members, Cook approached Colie inside the food court at the Dulles Town Center mall on Sunday while others filmed the encounter. Cook was trying to prank Colie with Google Translate, a smartphone app, they said.
"He was putting a phone in somebody's face, and it was saying things in another language - I don't know what it was saying - and the gentleman slapped it away twice, and the third time, he shot him," said Michael Cook, Tanner Cook's grandfather.
"The guy didn't appreciate it, and got mad, and shot my son," Jeramy Cook said in an interview.
The confrontation was captured on video by Cook's collaborators, but the family has not seen it, because police seized it as evidence, the Cooks said.
A spokesman for the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office declined to comment on the account provided by the Cook family, pointing to the ongoing investigation. Virginia law requires anyone carrying firearms to hold a permit, and it was unclear whether Colie had one.
"The motive for the shooting at the Dulles Town Center is under investigation, as is whether Mr. Colie had a permit and, if so, where from," said Thomas Julia, a spokesman for the sheriff's office. "The victim was found outside the mall and treated by both arriving deputies and Loudoun County Combined Fire and Rescue System personnel. He is recovering from a gunshot wound to the abdomen and remains hospitalized."
A single gunshot pierced Cook's abdomen, causing multiple injuries and damaging his internal organs, his grandfather said, adding that Cook "can hardly talk without severe pain."
"He's been a prankster most of his life. He's just a giant teddy bear. But . . . he picked the wrong guy to test something being funny," Michael Cook said. "We just lift Tanner up, and we know he is and always will be in God's hands."
Jeramy Cook said the incident showed the need for Americans to exercise their constitutional rights responsibly. Comedians thrive on free speech, he said, because "if you can't offend somebody in a comedic way, it's hard to be funny." At the same time, Americans have a right to bear arms, he said.
"My son is a good kid. He has a good heart. He's not a mean-spirited kid trying to go out there and hurt people," Jeramy Cook said.
"To do something like that, and to possibly try to kill somebody because you were offended, is not okay or excusable," he added.
"My reaction is to forgive the guy that did it, and pray for him - that he gets forgiveness from God," Jeramy Cook continued. "To forgive somebody and move on is the way to handle offense."
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The Washington Post's Magda Jean-Louis contributed to this report.
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