A YouTuber who nearly lost his life after one of his pranks ended with him getting shot has vowed to continue filming videos.
On Thursday, a jury found 31-year-old delivery driver Alan Colie not guilty in the high-profile shooting case of YouTube prankster, Tanner Cook.
Cook, a 21-year-old who runs the YouTube channel Classified Goons, was involved in an altercation with Colie at the food court in Dulles Town Center, Virginia - approximately 45 minutes west of the nation’s capital. The incident instigated widespread panic as shoppers frantically evacuated the mall, fearing a mass shooting scenario.
Colie asserted a not-guilty plea, maintaining that he acted in self-defense during the altercation. The jury, after around five hours of contemplation, was divided on the grounds of self-defense, leading to Loudoun County Circuit Court Judge, Matthew Snow, encouraging further deliberation.
Colie was ultimately acquitted of aggravated malicious wounding but was convicted on one of the two lesser firearms counts, with his attorney, Adam Pouilliard, arguing the inconsistency of the conviction given the acquittal on self-defense grounds, per NBC News.
Pouilliard argued in his closing statements that his client felt menaced by the 6-foot-5 Cook, asserting that Cook’s confrontational approach was intended to provoke and attract viewers to his channel, which is renowned for its off-putting stunts, earning Cook $2,000 to $3,000 a month.
"He’s not worried that he’s scaring people. He keeps doing this," Pouilliard stated during closing arguments.
The jury had the opportunity to review video footage of the incident, revealing the tense confrontation between the two individuals.
The evidence presented depicted Cook approaching Colie in the food court of the Dulles Towne Center mall. As Colie was ordering his meal, Cook started to play audio from his phone, which blasted phrases like, "Hey dips**t, quit thinking about my twinkle" via the Google Translate app.
Colie attempted to move away from Cook and asked him three times to stop. After failing to knock Cook's phone out of his hands, Colie pulled out a gun and shot the prankster in the lower chest, Sky News reports.
The debate around reasonable fear and imminent danger formed the crux of the prosecutor, Eden Holmes’ argument, who contested the validity of a self-defense claim in this scenario, describing Cook’s prank as bizarre but not threatening.
Cook’s channel currently boasts over 50,000 subscribers, and he has continued to share controversial prank videos to his channel since the shooting, including one where he gets detained by officers at an airport.
In an interview with WUSA9 following the acquittal, Cook said that he plans to continue releasing videos to his channel. When asked if he was disappointed in the jury's decision on Thursday, he said: "I really don't care, it is what it is. It's God's plan, at the end of the day."
Colie, who has remained in custody since his April arrest, awaits further hearings on the issue next month.
