Target Gifts 8-Year-Old With Shopping Spree After He Was Victim To Cruel Prank

Don’t you just love it when a bad experience turns into a rewarding one? That’s exactly what happened to father and son TJ and Gabe Lyles during a recent visit to Target. Gabe, who is special needs, was the unfortunate victim of a mean prank. 

While shopping with his father at Target, they were approached by three individuals that claimed to work for mega-popular YouTuber, MrBeast. MrBeast is known for going up to random people and giving them challenges in exchange for money. “They said they wanted to do a fill-a-cart challenge where we would be blindfolded, within 30 seconds whatever we could put within the cart they would pay for,” TJ Lyles told Eyewitness News 3.

The three men seemed convincing enough, so the father and son decided to participate in the challenge. According to Global Positive News, TJ revealed to the unknown men that Gabe was hearing-impaired, to which they responded,”That’s exactly who we are looking for.” They said that Target was also participating with the challenge. Still unsure, TJ asked an employee if it was but they didn’t know anything.

The father and son decided to participate in the challenge anyway. Ten seconds into it, TJ heard the men suddenly run off. Thankfully, the father said the Target employees were understanding and helpful.

To make matters worse, the three men videotaped the prank with their phones. The unfortunate story made its way online where it was discovered on Facebook by the Town of Southington’s Commission for Persons with Disabilities, who decided to give Gabe a $200 gift card. Target took things a step further and matched the donation, bringing the total gift card value to $400. An awful prank made by terrible people was turned into a positive and young Gabe was able to get the shopping spree he deserved.

“I picked out Nerf guns, water balloons, and water guns,” Gabe told Eyewitness News 3. “It made me feel heartwarming and happy.”