SILVER SPRING, Md. — The quest for viral, internet stardom landed two brothers in a Montgomery County jail. Now, the two have spoken out about why they planned the hoax and what they were thinking at the time they planned it all.
Denidson Jean, 21, and Pierre Jean, 18, were arrested by Montgomery County Police in January for staging a stabbing hoax in which police responded.
“We were pranking the family. Not the cops,” said Jean Pierre trying to explain the hoax gone wrong. “It went too far. We didn’t mean for the police to show[up].”
The brothers run the YouTube channel ‘2brotherz’. The account has more than 1,600 subscribers with videos dedicated to various pranks—mainly within grocery stores. Their most-watched video involved their now criminally charged January prank.
“We got the blood. We got the blood,” said Denidson Pierre as he held up a large container of artificial blood to the camera, before going through with the hoax.
In the video, you see the brothers set the stage for the prank by organizing items in the kitchen where the “stabbing” will occur. Denidson Jean even pours fake blood on his brother to stage the ‘struggle’. Once everything is in place, the prank begins.
“Call 9-1-1. Call 9-1-1,” screamed Pierre Jean to family members in another room.
Moments later, other members of the family storm the kitchen to find a tragic scene. Denidson is seen on the floor in a pool of blood. Pierre is covered in blood with a knife in his hand. Again, this is all a hoax but to the unsuspecting, it was a horrific, terrifying scene the video showed.
RELATED: Police: Silver Spring brothers arrested for stabbing hoax that evokes officers, ambulance to respond
After more commotion, Montgomery County Police arrived at a home in the 12700 block of Laurie Lane, Silver Spring, for what they believed was a legit call for help.
“We were having advanced life support units that were being called due to the nature of the injuries that were being described,” said Montgomery County Police Chief Marcus Jones when asked about the response from first responders.
When asked why the pair went to such lengths to pull off a dramatic hoax, Pierre explained, “… to see the family reaction.”
The brothers, according to police, staged everything from the stabbing to the fight that led to the hoax assault. And, their family called emergency dispatch five times on the night of the hoax.
The two brothers have been charged with making a false report and giving a false statement to law enforcement.
“I get that everyone wants to have fun but there are limits to what we do particularly when we talk about life and death,” said Chief Jones.
The brothers told WUSA9 they recognize they went too far and for that they’re sorry.
“We didn't mean for the police to show …to make them waste their time. We're really sorry about all of that,” said Pierre Jean.