Zombie Hoax Terrifies Florida Town

In the wake of the horrifying cannibal attack in Miami, a young man's zombie prank hit a nerve with many residents. INSIDE EDTION talks to the man at the center of the backlash.

A viral video shows a zombie on a rampage, scaring the wits out of people in Florida.

They look genuinely terrified. One kid climbs a fence to get away. Another young man stands his ground at first, but then runs away in horror.

It was, of course, a hoax—but folks in Delray Beach didn't know it at the time. All they thought was that a maniac in zombie makeup was on the loose.

What made it worse was that the prank took place in the wake of an unspeakable crime in nearby Miami, where a homeless man had his face eaten off—leading to headlines of a zombie attack. The attacker was shot to death by police.   

The guy behind the zombie hoax is 20-year-old Vitaly Zdorovetskiy.

"You really scared a lot of people, and someone might have gotten hurt running away from you, running into traffic," said INSIDE EDITION's Paul Boyd.

"Are you trying to turn this into a bad story or something? This was just for entertainment, and I think it's hilarious," replied Zdorovetskiy.

He says he set out to spoof the current zombie craze sweeping America, with popular zombie-themed shows like The Walking Dead.

"Did you think at all about the possibility that someone might shoot you?" asked Boyd.

"My life was at risk—I'm just glad to be okay," said Zdorovetskiy.

If you look closely at the video, you can see someone actually pull what looks like a gun on him.

Zdorovetskiy has a history of playing stupid pranks. He was recently arrested for impersonating a cop in a video that shows him asking young men to get out of a car because he says he smelled marijuana.

The charges were eventually dropped, but it's his latest stunt that is angering so many.

On the INSIDE EDITION Facebook page, Mike said, "Moron is going to get killed doing stupid stuff like that."
 
"There's no way you're going to stop pulling these pranks?" asked Boyd.

"No. My comedy is pure gold. Everyone says that," replied Zdorovetskiy.