youtube "prank" robbery video gets one shot dead.

[gunsmith]

  early 20's guys making prank vids
 ( I have seen a bunch of "bait bike" vids that are mildly amusing )
They pretend to rob people with butcher knives!
Did they not know they could be shot?
Stupid way to die.
I wonder what yt channel it was
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/tennessee-man-shot-killed-after-youtube-video-prank-goes-wrong-n1256940

[230RN]

"Timothy Wilks, 20, was killed after he approached a group of people with butcher knives as part of a 'prank' robbery, police said."

Say whut?

Anyhoo, I've watched a couple of those surprise prank programs on TV and most of them are stupid and dangerous. 

[Hawkmoon]

Play stupid games ... win stupid prizes.

[WLJ]

[HankB]

. . .
Anyhoo, I've watched a couple of those surprise prank programs on TV and most of them are stupid and dangerous.

Same here.

I figured that the televised practical joke shows were entirely rehearsed and scripted; otherwise with some of the "pranks" - the ones that were actually threatening - a violent response was likely with normal people being the object of the "fun."

Seems like these idiots couldn't figure that out - approaching strangers with weapons (butcher knives) in a threatening manner isn't funny, but IS a good way to get shot. As anyone with more than a spoonful of brains ought to know.

Another Darwin award candidate bites the dust.

(Or maybe it was a REAL robbery, and his cohorts are just SAYING it was a prank in an attempt to stay out of jail?)

[WLJ]

I think part of the problem is the mindset that that has been pounded into many today that basically says you have no right to stand your ground and defend yourself but rather you must run and hide. The guy who didn't obviously didn't respond as the attacker/jokester expected.

[Angel Eyes]

Metropolitan Nashville police could not be reached by phone or email on Saturday to provide additional details, including the status of the friend who was with Wilks at the time of his death and whether Starnes had a gun permit

Did Wilks have a butcher knife permit?

[Hawkmoon]

Same here.

I figured that the televised practical joke shows were entirely rehearsed and scripted; otherwise with some of the "pranks" - the ones that were actually threatening - a violent response was likely with normal people being the object of the "fun."

There was a YouTube video a few years ago that went spectacularly wrong. A guy talked his girlfriend into shooting him at pointblank range while he was holding a telephone book in front of his chest. He assured her that the phone book would stop the bullet. The gun was a .50 caliber Desert Eagle.

Probably needless to say, the phone book did not stop the bullet.

The young woman was charged with second degree manslaughter, and she pleaded guilty. Personally, I don't think she should have been charged. Even the (male) idiot's family agreed that he talked her into it by assuring her that it was safe.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/woman-pleads-guilty-fatal-shooting-boyfriend-failed-youtube-stunt-n831151

YouTube is a pernicious disease. Once people get a YouTube channel up, some of them get completely addicted to a "need" to attract more views, and more subscriptions.

[RoadKingLarry]

I think the "friend" that was in on the so called prank needs to get a murder charge.
That's pretty much how it would(or should) go down in Oklahoma. If you are engaged in a crime and one of your partners in crime is killed by your intended victim the surviving criminal gets the murder charge.
I've seen those stupid scare the rube shows and videos and figure they pretty well had to be scripted. I'd like to see this event get wide spread publicity to hopefully educate a few people about the possible repercussions of trying to prank strangers.
 

[HankB]

Sometimes even relatively harmless pranks go wrong . . .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IltP3la77EU&ab_channel=xiviara

(I think this was completely scripted, by the way.)

[gunsmith]

idiots see the scripted well produced and acted "prank" stuff and they're like the guys/gals who see a shootout on TV and imagine they know all about accuracy under fire and fighting.
some of the prank videos are amusing in an idiocracy/ow my balls kind of way - but it can go horribly wrong and the dunning kruger effect kicks in with darwin.

[just Warren]

Is anyone surprised that it took this long for an idiot to get capped doing this sort of thing?

[Andiron]

Is anyone surprised that it took this long for an idiot to get capped doing this sort of thing?

Meh, I'm kind of ok with it.  Guy was an ahole.

As Hawkmoon and WLJ said,  play stupid games..