Tennessee Based Youtuber Killed During Fake Robbery Prank Gone Wrong

UPDATED: 8:31 A.M. ET, Feb 9, 2021 —

A local Tennessee Youtuber is dead after he pulled a robbery prank, which led to him being fatally shot.

Source: Karl Tapales / Getty

If you have ever spent any time on Youtube, then you’ve seen a lot of the most-watched videos are pranks. From harmless relationship pranks, like leaving a fake spider on the floor, to pranks of giving someone an iPhone, these are mostly harmless. But, after a while, you also stumble across the more serious pranks.

Pranks always end up going too far in the name of views and that’s why the trend has mostly phased out. According to NBC News, a Youtuber is dead after his robbery prank went sideways and the person being pranked couldn’t tell it was a joke, leading them to defend themselves.

When officers got to Urban Air in the city’s Hermitage neighborhood about 9:20 p.m., they learned Timothy Wilks, 20, and a friend approached a group of people, including David Starnes Jr., with butcher knives as part of the prank.

Starnes, 23, told detectives he was unaware of the prank and shot Wilks in self-defense, the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department said Saturday in a statement.

On social media, some have referred to the Youtuber pranks differently, claiming he goes to lower-income areas and pranks Black people, almost terrorizing them for reactions for his channel. No one has been charged in the case and for now, there’s no word if that will change. This all could have easily been avoided.

Last year a similar incident occurred when Youtube twins Alan and Alex Stoke pretended to be bank robbers. Both brothers were slapped with a felony count of imprisonment for violence, menace, fraud, and deceit. They eventually pled not guilty to the charges.