Gun security advocate and YouTube persona Paul Harrell introduced his demise in a prerecorded video, which was posted to the platform on Wednesday. Harrell was 58 years outdated.
Within the video, created on Dec. 20, Harrell sits on a snow-covered log close to his dwelling in Oregon and shares that whereas his pancreatic most cancers prognosis was caught early, he didn’t have as a lot time left as he had initially hoped for, because the aggressive most cancers superior to stage 4 and his bones had “crumbled.” He shared his most cancers prognosis along with his followers on July 16, 2023.
“I’m recording this and giving Brad [Nelson, Harrell’s manager] instructions to publish it upon my death, so if you’re watching me, I’m dead,” he says on the prime of his closing video.
“Now, a few months ago I sat here on this log and told you I’d been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. And I told you they caught it early and we were going to be here for some time. Well, we did catch it early but not as early as I had thought,” he informed his 1.2 million subscribers.
“My time is drawing short,” he added, after sharing that he’d damaged a hip and was now utilizing a crutch for mobility.
A U.S. Military and Marine Corps veteran, Harrell launched his channel in 2012 on “GunTube,” the nickname for gun-related content material on the platform, with a give attention to weapons, gun rights, firearm security and accountable firearm utilization, in response to an obituary posted on legacy.com.
Harrell thanked his followers and subscribers in his farewell video and even apologized, saying he “let everyone down” by not having the ability to stick with it along with his movies in demise.
“My goal in doing all of this was, yes, to have fun, do some things that were fun, but primarily to put out useful information. Or if not useful, at least interesting information,” he mentioned. “And what I actually hope is that, as you’re watching me, you’ve seen some issues which have made you say, ‘Oh I get it, OK.’
“My sincere apologies,” he added. “I had hoped that I’d proceed in this format for the subsequent 10 and even 15 years. And even as soon as I used to be identified, I had hoped we might be right here two or three extra years, and it’s turned out to solely be a number of extra months. And my apologies for that. It actually makes me really feel like I’ve let all people down.
“I guess the final line, I have not really rehearsed this, is that I’m really glad to have had the opportunity to do all of the stuff that we’ve done,” he says in an emotional conclusion. “I really hope it’s been helpful and I really appreciate you watching, commenting and participating, and I have probably very few regrets in what we’ve done here.”
Harrell’s brother, Roy, then seems in the clip to point that Paul has, in reality, died, including that he’s “heartbroken” by the information.
“It was his wish that I maintain his legacy through this channel,” Roy mentioned. “He will remain an inspiration to us all.”
Nelson, Harrell’s supervisor, then seems to share that Harrell’s legacy will stick with it as they proceed posting to the channel and sharing free gun security data.
“He was a very generous and kind guy and told the best campfire stories,” Nelson tells his followers.
Along with his brother, Harell is reportedly survived by his spouse, Mary Harrell. Tributes to Harrell have been posted on X (previously Twitter) because the information of his demise unfold on-line, with followers writing that “we’ve lost a legend” and that he’ll “live on forever for his contributions to our nation.”
