LEESBURG, Va. — The man who shot a 21-year-old YouTuber inside Dulles Town Center on video in April has been found not guilty on two charges of malicious wounding.
The jury found Alan Colie not guilty of aggravated malicious wounding or use of a firearm for aggravated malicious wounding, however, he was found guilty of firing a gun inside the mall. That guilty verdict has been set aside until a hearing to discuss it on October 19.
Colie took the stand on Wednesday to explain to jurors why he critically shot Tanner Cook, who was recording a prank video for his YouTube channel "Classified Goons."
Colie recalled how Cook and his friend approached him from behind and put the phone about six inches away from his face. He described feeling confused by the phrase Cook was playing out loud using Google Translate. Colie told the jury the two looked “really cold and angry.”
His attorneys are arguing how the shooting in the food court is a case of self-defense. Colie is a DoorDash driver who was picking up food. He acknowledged carrying a gun during work as a way to protect himself after seeing reports of other delivery service drivers being robbed.
Colie said despite backing away, yelling “stop” several times, threatening to call police and pushing the phone back, Cook refused to answer him and kept moving forward.
“In my mind, I registered that he was a threat to me, and he was going to harm me,” Colie told the jury. “I saw his left hand down in his left pocket. I didn’t know if he was concealing a weapon. For the sake of my safety, I took out the gun from my right pocket and I shot him in the stomach. At that time, I was fearful that my life was in danger.”
When his attorneys asked why he didn't run away or fight Cook, Colie said he was scared he was unable to run and felt so surprised at the time. He was unsure if Cook was armed or not.
The prosecution argued the interaction between the two men lasted for only about 20 seconds, which was being recorded by one of Cook’s friends. Based on her line of questions, Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Eden Holmes tried to cast doubt on his testimony.
“In those 20 seconds, you felt the only option was to take out your gun?” Holmes asked.
“Those were my thoughts,” Colie replied.
Holmes argued that Colie never tried to call for help, nor was he ever touched by Cook who had the phone six inches away from his face during the entire interaction.
Cook previously testified that he did not realize he was scaring Colie.
Before the defense rested its case, attorney Adam Pouilliard also had threat assessment and de-escalation expert Brian O’Donnell on the stand. O’Donnell described how the proximity and size of an individual combined with an inability to escape could be considered a threat.
Judge Matthew Snow allowed O'Donnell to talk about the impact of stress on someone’s executive function, which includes reasoning skills and problem-solving capabilities.
While not directly discussing the shooting, the defense tried to paint a picture with O’Donnell’s testimony that because of the stress Colie likely faced, it impaired his perceptions and the “ability to see alternative courses of action in the moment.”