Two YouTube pranksters are apologizing after they pulled a fake kidnapping at a public park.
On Saturday afternoon in Sequim, Washington folks were enjoying a pleasant day at a public park when a terrifying scene unfolded. Two masked men whipped in to the area in a van and snatched a 4-year-old boy who was sitting next to his mother (who was in on the stunt). The child was then hurried into the van before it sped away.
Parents at the scene predictably reacted frantically, some chasing after the vehicle trying to get a license plate number while others dialed 911.
This panic became outrage when they discovered that it was just a hoax perpetrated by two brothers who have a YouTube channel that features these types of shenanigans. They returned with the child and tried to reason to the park pedestrians that it was a video to promote “kidnapping awareness” but the shocked adults on hand were having none of it as they gave the men a verbal lashing.
The brothers claimed they provided a warning to local police but the authorities disagreed with that assessment. Sgt. Detective Sean Madison told ABC News:
“We got a call moments before the incident happened at the park, with someone saying something to the effect of they are going to be filming a documentary-type video involving a fake kidnapping. We don’t consider that to be a warning or an advisement.”
Madison also smelled bull dookie with the “awareness video” excuse in light of the fact that the clip was used to garner views and promote their channel. “Even though they said this was an awareness video, it’s very clear that all their other posts are pranks. There is certainly some inconsistency in what they’re saying and what they’ve posted online in the past,” Madison said.
Tiffany Barnett was one of the parents on the scene who didn’t find humor in the prank. She said, “My daughter’s still terrified. She will tell you right now, ‘What if they take me?'”
Via the video on YouTube which is still up they wrote:
We made this video to help prevent and to show how real an abduction can be. We are sorry to who ever was at the park and had to be apart of it, we needed real reactions and didn’t mean to harm anyone. We called the cops before hand to let them no what we were doing, unfortunately not all of them were notified. Don’t worry the little boy is in on it!
Towards the end of the clip the officer on scene told the brothers that he was more than ready to kill whoever was driving the van if needed.
