A young California man whose comedic antics on YouTube brought him a certain level of "professional" recognition has been reminded, amidst swirling controversy, that there is such a thing as a joke taken too far.

Roberto Gonzalez, 21, hails from Los Angeles, Calif., and is the apparent owner of YouTube channel "HotSpanish." His channel has garnered upwards of three million hits in recent months after posting two videos of himself playing an AK-47-armed hitman doing drive by shootings on unsuspecting pedestrians in order to record their reactions. It turns out that violence isn't so funny after all, at least not for the "victims."

The videos, entitled "Sicario Tirando A Matar En Publico" (or, "Sicario Shooting To Kill In Public") feature Gonzalez cruising down California streets, windows rolled down, replica assault weapon aimed at innocent pedestrians and car speakers blasting simulated gunfire. The victims of his sadistic mock shootings can be seen fleeing in terror as they try to avoid the fate of so many real life victims of gang-style shootings that are an unfortunate reality in the world today.

Gonzalez posted the first video in his series on April 26, promising viewers that if it received 20,000 "likes," that he would post a follow-up video. That first video now has upwards of 100,000 likes and around 2.5 million page views.

Gonzalez kept his promise and on July 29 put up a second video, which received almost 400,000 views and over 71,000 likes in just five days. Although the videos are certainly commanding publicity, not all of the viewers are responding in amusement. Many reminders have been posted that there is nothing remotely funny in turning an issue infused with violence and suffering into a laughing matter.

Although Gonzalez and crew assured reporters that their films were shot with the utmost professionalism and courtesy, they have come to admit, after taking the video's mixed responses into account, that perhaps they had taken things "too far," according to a recent report from Univision.

"The attention generated by the second video in the media made me think that maybe I shouldn't create any more of these videos," Gonzalez said. According to Univision, Gonzalez offered apologies to the people he offended and he will not be seeking to do a third video.

Other Drive-by Shooting Pranks that Went South

This is probably a good idea, especially after a similar set of pranks took place in Australia earlier this year, with two teenage brothers filming similar stunts and uploading the videos to social media sites. Detectives from Australia's Counter Terrorism Command ended up tracking down the duo and arresting them on multiple charges.

According to The Herald Sun, the assistant commissioner of the Aussie Counter Terrorism Command, Ross Guenther, along with the rest of his unit had been monitoring the boys videos for months and were forced to take action as the "pranks" became increasingly dangerous.

"Hopefully we have brought this matter to an end and made a clear statement that this sort of behaviour is not okay," Guenther said.