MILLTOWN, Pennsylvania – 

Rick Pilsner, 20, was reportedly shot and killed during a prank he was filming for his YouTube channel yesterday evening. Pilsner, known to his 13 followers on the social media channel as “That Prank Guy,” reportedly had dressed up in a “very realistic” zombie outfit to scare shoppers at the Milltown Plaza Mall.

“It’s a tragedy that this happened, a truly sad story,” said Milltown police chief Joe Goldsmith. “Rick Pilsner was well known in this town for his pranks and jokes, but this one just went too far for one citizen. Apparently Rick never watched the news, and didn’t know that any idiot with a gun is likely to use it, especially in a mall.”

Goldsmith says that at approximately 8pm, Pilsner went into a mall restroom and changed into his zombie outfit and makeup. At approximately 8:30pm, when he walked out of the bathroom mumbling “brainssss…brainsss…” a passing shopper drew his concealed firearm and shot Pilsner 3 times in the face.

“Yup. I saw that zombie, and he was coming right for me, screaming about eatin’ my brains,” said Jerry Moore, 62, a retired truck driver. “I was carrying my old .45, as I usually am, and when I saw him coming at me, I drew out and shot the sumbitch right in the face. After he went down, I shot him a couple more times, too. Can’t be too careful with zombies, you know.”

Moore, who was later informed that Pilsner was a young man in a costume, and not an actual zombie, reportedly commented “Pfft, that’s just what the government wants you to think. I know a real zombie when I see one.”

Goldsmith says that Moore will not face criminal charges in the case, as he honestly “feared for his life.” His weapon was temporarily confiscated for investigation purposes.