On Friday 5th February 2021, 20-year-old YouTuber Timothy Wilks was shot dead after his failed prank for his channel. However, his incident was not the first time YouTube pranks have gone wrong, here are two other well-known accidents.
Pranks by YouTubers, such as Pranks vs Pranks, Roman Atwood, and FouseyTube, were popular a few years ago. YouTubers have gradually become riskier with their videos in the hopes of going viral, to the point that some have undertaken life-threatening antics.
YouTuber Timothy Wilks was recently killed after taking part in a robbery prank in Nashville, Tennessee.
This isn’t the first time a creator has been assassinated in the name of ‘entertainment.’ In 2017, a female YouTuber shot and killed her lover. A prank by the Stokes Twins ended in an Uber driver being held at gunpoint two years later.
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FEBRUARY 2021: TIMOTHY WILKS
Timothy Wilks was fatally shot in the parking lot of Nashville’s Urban Air Trampoline and Adventure Park. With butcher knives in hand, the YouTuber and his friend allegedly approached a group of people.
No arrests have been made as of this writing, and authorities are currently looking into whether the shooting was truly self-defense and whether David had a gun permit.
Timothy’s friend was unharmed, according to reports.
Since hearing the news, people have been searching the internet for Timothy’s YouTube channel in order to learn more about him. The official platform of the 20-year-old has yet to be identified.
OCTOBER 2019: STOKES TWINS
Twins, 24 years old Alan and Alex Stokes are well-known YouTubers with more than six million subscribers. With roughly 30 million followers on TikTok, they’re also successful TikTokers.
Their presence is massive, yet their bank robbery hoax resulted in a run-in with the cops.
The developers staged two bank robberies in Irvine, California on October 15, 2019. The YouTubers called an Uber while wearing black ski masks and carrying duffel bags of cash, but the driver refused to pick them up.
A bystander, believing the twins were carjacking the Uber, phoned the cops, and the driver was detained at gunpoint before realizing what had happened.
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The Stokes Twins said that they had notified the Irvine Police Department’s non-emergency line about their plan to make the prank movie for their YouTube channel. As a result, they were charged with one felony count of false imprisonment effected by assault, threat, fraud, or deception, with a maximum sentence of four years in prison if found guilty.
The YouTubers have not been penalised for their hoax as of 2021.
JUNE 2017: MONALISA PEREZ
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The Stokes Twins said that they had notified the Irvine Police Department’s non-emergency line about their plan to make the prank movie for their YouTube channel. As a result, they were charged with one felony count of false imprisonment effected by assault, threat, fraud, or deception, with a maximum sentence of four years in prison if found guilty.
The YouTubers have not been penalised for their hoax as of 2021.
