A YouTuber has been shot in the USA during a “Prank” video. He approached a group of strangers in Nashville, Tennessee, with a butcher’s knife. One of the men felt threatened, grabbed a gun, and fired. The YouTuber died. Apparently, the shooter is not expected to face any charges.
This is how the YouTuber lost his life: As reported by several US outlets, 20-year-old YouTuber Timothy Wilks died on Friday. He was planning a “Robbery Prank” for his YouTube channel: He wanted to stage a robbery, terrify a group of passersby, and then post their reaction online.
He and a friend approached a group of strangers with butcher knives. They had no idea that this was supposed to be just a joke for YouTube. A 23-year-old man, whom Wilks had chosen as his victim, pulled a gun and shot the supposed attacker. His friend was uninjured.
This took place in a parking lot in front of a trampoline park in Nashville, Tennessee.
Will the shooter be held accountable? Probably not. At the moment, no one has been charged for the death of the 20-year-old. The police say they are conducting further investigations to determine whether the man acted in self-defense.
It is reported that the 23-year-old man stated to the police: He shot to protect himself and others.
Tennessee law allows residents of the US state to possess and carry a weapon – for self-defense reasons.
The law even states that a person has no obligation to retreat but may use deadly force as long as they are acting lawfully and are in a place where they are allowed to be.
YouTube Pranks are getting crazier
What are “Pranks”? Pranks used to be harmless jokes that Paola and Kurt Felix used to do with celebrities on “Verstehen Sie Spaß?” Or for the younger ones: Pranks used to be harmless jokes that Ashton Kutcher did on MTV in “Punk’d.”
On YouTube, this is now taking absurd forms, and the pranks are getting more extreme just to garner attention.
In Germany, the YouTuber ApoRed threw a bag in front of a group of passersby in front of a sparkasse in Hamburg in 2016, shouting “You all have 30 seconds, run if your life is worth anything!” He faked a terrorist attack and was legally charged for it.
YouTuber Wilks apparently wanted to give his fans the thrill of showing how people react when they are put in fear for their lives by approaching them with a butcher knife.
With such prank videos, some YouTubers have become stars in the past. However, the videos have always been controversial. Comments under such videos often read: “Does someone have to die before you realize how hollow this is?”
That has now happened. A journalist on the scene wrote: This is a tragic incident. In a moment, two families were destroyed.
We reported on a similarly extreme case on MeinMMO at Christmas 2017. An innocent person was shot in a “swatting incident.” Two Call of Duty players had a dispute, and one decided to send a police SWAT team to the other’s house. Unfortunately, he had the wrong address:
