TEXARKANA, Texas — A group of East Texans were arrested after police say they staged a robbery for YouTube views.
According to the Texarkana Police Department, Aaron Meeks, 18, had his friends pretend to shoot him and record his unsuspecting girlfriend's reaction so they could post the video on his YouTube channel.
Police say the group was so convincing, complete with fake blood on his shirt, that his girlfriend ran off and frantically tried to find someone to call 911 for her.
The TPD says the girlfriend believed Meeks had really been shot and could be dying.
According to police, an ambulance crew and several officers dropped everything when the call came in and rushed to the scene. Once they arrived, they say they discovered it had all been an elaborate hoax after Meeks and the "robbers" were found walking together a few blocks away.
Police say the group told them he guns the girlfriend had seen and heard were actually CO2 BB guns that sounded real when fired.
Meeks, along with Kevin Blow, Jacoby Johnson, Landon Nelson and Kobe Webster, were all arrested for creating a false alarm and taken to the Bi-State Jail. The bond for each of them has been set at $5,000.
"Hopefully, we can all learn something from these guys," police said in a statement. "Getting that 15 minutes of fame online is not worth it. This whole plan from inception was stupid and should have never happened. Their little prank meant that the response to real calls and emergencies in Texarkana was delayed while we dealt with this call. What the heck were they thinking?"
