YouTube prank gone wrong: Teens arrested after fake armed robbery on mother
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A couple of teenagers decided to prank the mother of one of them by staging an armed robbery, and it did not really go exactly as they have planned.
A 17-year-old thought it would be good content for his YouTube channel, so he got three of his friends to put on ski masks and “rob” the 40-year-old mother who was in her driveway in Ohio, United States, as per Fox-affiliate WJW on Jan. 10.
The teen’s friends ordered the mother to go inside her house, held an airsoft gun against her head and demanded money, as per report. As part of the prank, the 17-year-old got into a fake fight against the “robbers,” prompting his mother to flee the house.
The mother running away was not part of the plan, however, which is why the teenager himself called the police about the situation.
“I just did a fake robbery prank on my mom and she ran. I know she called the police. She’s nowhere to be found,” he was quoted as saying to the 911 dispatcher.
The teen reportedly also explained in the phone call that he called because he “[doesn’t] want the police to come here aggressive.”
He then assured the 911 dispatcher that it was just a prank, explaining: “But she thought it was for real. Like when I got to wrestling my friends for fake, she ran out of the house.”
When asked by the dispatcher why he did that to his mother, the 17-year-old said it was for posting in YouTube: “It was on YouTube, so I did a YouTube prank.”
The dispatcher then asked if it was a “live YouTube thing,” to which the young man replied, “Yeah, it’s still live right now.”
Authorities likewise received another call from a homeowner at a neighboring street, who reported that there was a lady hiding on his porch.
“I’ve got a lady that knocked on my door and she’s hiding on my porch like someone was chasing her or something, and she said ‘hurry, hurry’, she’s kind of mouthing out the word ‘hurry,'” he was quoted as saying to the dispatcher.
“I didn’t open the door and let her in because I don’t know what’s going on, but she sees me on the phone right now calling you guys and I think she was in danger out here,” the homeowner added.
The 17-year-old’s phone, which was used to record the prank for YouTube, has since been confiscated by the police.
He and one of his underaged friends are now facing juvenile charges, as per report. The other two who took part are already adults, namely 19-year-old Isaiah Welch and 18-year-old Jeramy Perry. Both have also been charged. Ian Biong/JB
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