A Youtube prank gone wrong led to the death of a 20-year-old after he attempted a "prank robbery" on a man who was carrying a gun.
According to witnesses, Timothy Wilks and a friend were filming the prank for their YouTube vlog when they approached a group of friends in a trampoline park in Nashville. The witnesses also stated that Wilks and his friend were carrying large knives.
After they approached the group, Wilks was shot by one of the people in the group, 23-year-old David Starnes Jr. He then told the police that he acted in self-defense upon seeing the YouTubers since they had no idea that it was a prank.
In his statement to the Nashville Police Department, Starnes said that he was scared for his life, prompting him to draw his weapon and fire at Wilks, who died shortly after the shooting.
Meanwhile, Starnes stated that he was completely unaware of the alleged pranks and Wilk's YouTube page, American Grit reported.
He also added that the YouTubers seemed to be initiating a robbery or attack as they approached, and he only reacted out of his fear for his group's safety.
As of the moment, nobody has been arrested by the police over the Youtube prank gone wrong. Starnes is also not in the custody of the police while the investigation is still ongoing.
In a report by WKRN, a local news outlet, it was stated that there were several families in the trampoline park when the shooting happened. They also described Urban Air trampoline park as both family and kid-friendly.
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Robbery YouTube Pranks
Robbery prank vlogs have become quite common on YouTube and even have many followers. These pranks sometimes even involve getaway vehicles and fake firearms.
Some of these videos have already reached millions of views. Many of these pranks are scripted wherein the person being "robbed" is actually "in" on the prank and are merely acting.
However, due to the pranks' dangers, YouTube has imposed a rule to ban threatening pranks almost two years ago. These include pranks that may lead to serious physical danger, cause imminent fear or create significant emotional distress, especially among minors.
The video-sharing site has also listed fake robberies and threats as offenses that may cause a video to be taken down. It is to avoid incidents such as Wilk's Youtube prank gone wrong.
YouTube Rule Book
YouTube has imposed the new rules against dangerous videos following several high-profile incidents, BBC reported.
In 2015, YouTube was under fire after they refused to delete the video where a vlogger known as Sam Pepper told a man that one of his friends was killed.
In 2017, a YouTube prank gone wrong also resulted in death after then 19-year-old Monalisa Perez fired a shot at her boyfriend through a thick book, which they both thought would stop the bullet.
In 2018, Perez was jailed for six months for the death of her then-boyfriend.
Ten months after the YouTube prank went wrong, the video-sharing site officially banned dangerous pranks.
