Brandon Buckingham Says Attempted Robbery Resulted in Him Shooting Assailant

Fans of a content creator are asking what happened after they learned that YouTube star Brandon Buckingham was involved in a shooting. Brandon has at least two million followers on his Instagram and YouTube pages combined, and on March 14, 2026, he advised them that an attempted robbery led to the shooting.

Brandon has had a rough time recently, and he was already recovering from an illness when the shooting happened. A GoFundMe had been set up to help him with his medical bills and to help support his wife and baby as he recovers. So, what happened?

Brandon shared a video on his Instagram Stories, and he said in the video that he'd shot someone who tried to rob him. A clip of the Instagram Story was shared on X with the caption, "Brandon Buckingham just posted he was punched and robbed, but shot the guy. Hope he is okay."

“Hey to the coward that sucker punched me and tried to rob me," said Brandon in the clip. "I hope that sh--t was worth it, 'cuz you didn’t get a dollar, and you still got shot like four or five times. B---h a--."

Brandon also showed his gun in the video, and he was wearing a bandage on the bottom of his nose. Brandon didn't share any more details about his assailant or his current status.

Brandon is recovering from pneumonia that led to sepsis, which resulted in him suffering from kidney and liver failure. He also has a rare form of the coxsackievirus that led to him having heart failure. He told People last November that his heart’s ejection fraction is between 15 percent and 20 percent, and it is considered to be severe heart failure.

"I’m really afraid I’m going to die," he said. "I can’t get out of the ICU until my heart stabilizes, and my heart is not stabilizing. I’m afraid of what’s going to happen. I have an 11-month-old daughter. I just want to not be dead, you know what I mean?"

Brandon did get out of the ICU eventually, and he shared an update on Instagram on Jan. 29.

"I am still alive! The past two months have been the most brutal I have ever been through," he wrote. "I just posted a video on my YouTube channel detailing the whole experience. I am truly blessed to still be breathing. Thank you for all your prayers and support!"

So far, Brandon's GoFundMe has raised $342,279. He shared on the website how he ended up in the ICU.

"Four days ago, I woke up not knowing where I was, completely deaf," he wrote. "My feet were swollen, and I was in severe pain. I was rushed to the urgent care and eventually the ICU. I was very disoriented and confused. The initial diagnosis was acute systolic heart failure, kidney failure, and liver failure, all things brought on by pneumonia and subsequent sepsis or possibly tuberculosis."

Brandon added that tuberculosis was ruled out, but he has a long recovery ahead of him.