Dutch content creator and lifestyle influencer Rouand YT has spoken out and denied wrongdoing after his channel was linked to a potential prank call and a fatal shooting that led to the death of two young Syrians.
There's much debate about what content the likes of YouTube and Kick allow on their platforms, with a particularly passionate discussion surrounding so-called 'prank' creators.
We've recently seen the legal ramifications involved with this kind of content, with Vitaly Zdorovetskiy spending 290 days in a Filipino jail and Johnny Somali locked up in South Korea.
On his YouTube channel, Rouand Saadoen's videos largely include him throwing water balloons at innocent people, rubbing IKEA security up the wrong way, and making numerous prank calls.
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Even though he doesn't seem to be as extreme as someone like Vitaly, he's had several run-ins with authorities.
As for the latest incident, it was alleged that Rouand YT accepted a €5 donation to phone a man known as Efe Y. as part of a prank call stream. An investigation from the Dutch Public Prosecution Service (OM) explains how Efe Y. supposedly received a phone call 30 minutes before the fatal shooting of two men, with the suspect being told to meet at a 'blue bridge' in Amsterdam's Piet Wiedijkpark.
Prosecutors maintain that this prank call evolved into a real-life crime that sounds like it's pulled from an episode of The Sopranos. When Efe Y. reached the bridge, it's said he opened fire on three innocent bystanders, with two tragically losing their lives and the third escaping. The boys were from an asylum seekers' center and supposedly on their way to McDonald's, with the Public Prosecution Service saying: "They were in the wrong place at the wrong time."
Saadoen told AT5 that he never made the call, although skeptics quickly claimed the story wasn't adding up and he'd deleted the offending stream.
Offering his defense, the YouTuber said that he was shocked to learn about the news but maintained he had nothing to do with the incident as he added: "I wasn't even live that day. It was impossible for me to have carried out that prank."
People who've given evidence say they were in contact with Y on WhatsApp, with reference to a firearm being made in chats. A search of a home belonging to Y's family led to the discovery of a silver-colored firearm, while gunshot residue was found on the suspect's trousers.
The Public Prosecution Service emphasized that even though Rouand YT was a potential witness, he wasn't being treated as a suspect.
In an update from De Telegraaf, it appears that Saadoen has changed his story as he claims there was 'uncertainty' about the date. Speaking through his lawyer, Gerald Roethof, Rouand's statement explains: "Upon further analysis of the information now known to the client, he must retract this denial. The client regrets the confusion caused.”
Still, Roethof reiterates that his client isn't a suspect and concluded: "It cannot currently be concluded that the client's prank was the cause of the shooting. None of this alters the fact that the client is reflecting on his own behavior and that he finds it terrible that this shooting took place."
Dutch authorities have previously flagged Saadoen's 'threat videos' as a continuing risk. As well as being hit with a penalty for promoting illegal gambling sites without a license in February 2026, Rouand was arrested for making threats through 'prank calls' in December 2023.