A delivery driver who shot a YouTuber who was pranking him said it was justifiable self-defense — and a jury agreed

• A delivery driver who shot a YouTube prankster has been acquitted of the main charge against him.
• He said he was acting in self-defense when he shot Tanner Cook during a prank, and the jury agreed.

A delivery driver who said he was acting in self-defense when he shot a YouTube prankster in a mall food court in April has been acquitted of the main charge against him.

A jury on Thursday found Alan Colie not guilty of the primary charge of aggravated malicious wounding in the shooting of Tanner Cook, 21, who runs the "Classified Goons" YouTube channel, Virginia court records show.

But the jury was divided on lesser firearms charges, finding the 31-year-old guilty of the unlawful discharge of a firearm in an occupied dwelling, but not guilty of the malicious discharge of a firearm.

The charges of aggravated malicious wounding and malicious discharge of a firearm would have required the jury to find that Colie acted with malice.

According to the Associated Press, the verdict was reached only after five hours of deliberation, with the jury sending out a note about three hours in saying it was "divided in terms of whether the defendant acted in self defense."

In response to the deadlock, the Loudoun County Circuit Court judge urged them to continue their deliberations, which is standard procedure, the news agency reported. The jury then reached its verdict before the end of the day.

Jurors watched a video of the shooting, which took place near the Cheesecake Factory in Virginia's Dulles Town Center mall.

At the time, Cook said he was playing a "simple practical joke" when Colie pulled out a semiautomatic pistol and shot him.

The footage showed Cook holding his cellphone close to Colie's face and repeatedly playing a phrase from Google Translate. AP reported that Colie said "stop" on three different occasions and tried to move away from Cook before pulling out his gun and immediately shooting him.

Cook's father, Jeramy Cook, told Insider in April that his son was hospitalized following the shooting, adding that his gallbladder was removed during surgery.

Prosecutor Eden Holmes argued that the facts did not support a self-defense claim, according to AP.

To successfully argue self-defense, Colie would have had to reasonably believe he was in imminent danger of bodily harm and avoided using excessive force, per AP. Holmes said that while the prank was bizarre, it did not carry the threat of violence, AP reported.

But Colie's defense attorney, Adam Pouilliard, said during closing arguments that his client felt scared by the confrontation with the YouTuber, the news agency reported.

He also argued that the conviction on the firearms charge was inconsistent with the law since Colie was acquitted on self-defense grounds, with Pouilliard asking the judge to set aside the conviction, according to AP.

A judge will hear arguments on the issue next month, court records show.

Cook, whose other videos include stunts like trailing strangers in stores and pretending to vomit on Uber drivers, did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

Pouilliard, who is representing Colie, who remains incarcerated, told Insider that he is unable to comment because the case is still ongoing.