(Fernando Salazar /The Wichita Eagle via AP)
Over the past decade or so, the rise of video-based social media platforms like Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok and the ubiquitous nature of smartphones have led to an explosion in idiotic and dangerous stunts, from the “knockout games” reported by the media in 2013 to the more recent “blackout challenge” that has led to at least one death this year.
Now, police in the small North Carolina town of Roxboro are warning teens not to indulge in the latest bit of online stupidity- the “gun prank war“.
The Roxboro Police Department responded to several reports of people pointing what look like real guns at drivers and other people as part of a “gun prank war,” according to a post on the department’s Facebook page. The warning has been shared over 900 times since it was posted just before 7 p.m. on Monday.
This is not the first time a YouTube prank has gone terribly wrong. According to
CNN, last year YouTubers Alan and Alex Stokes were charged with false imprisonment and swatting after pretending to rob a bank, dressed in all black and carrying duffle bags, and carjacking an Uber driver. Police arrived at the scene and ended up holding the driver, who was not in on the fact that he was the getaway driver, at gunpoint.
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Nashville Metropolitan Police in Tennessee said on Saturday that detectives are investigating the shooting death of Timothy Wilks, 20. The incident occurred during the filming of a video for the internet in the parking lot of Urban Air Trampoline and Adventure Park, a family entertainment business.
The police in a statement said investigators have been told Wilks and a friend tried to carry out a prank robbery for a YouTube video.
The pair, armed with butcher knives, are said to have approached a group of people to pretend to rob them, prompting one of member of the party, David Starnes Jr, 23, to draw his gun and fire.
By Ashlee Young
Feb 9, 2021 Being a YouTuber has become seemingly, one of the fastest growing luxury career paths, young people today strive for. After the major success of YouTubers such as James Charles, Shane Dawson, PewDiePie and more just to name a few - it s clear to see why so many young people strive for the goal of more subscribers, more brand deals and more opportunities off their content alone.
Unfortunately, that aspiration to reach a certain number of views ended up horribly wrong in Nashville, Tenn., per