Mum-to-be shoots lover dead in YouTube prank
Encyclopedia fails to stop her bullet
A TEENAGE mum-to-be shot her boyfriend dead as the pair performed a stunt they hoped would make them YouTube stars.
Monlisa Perez, 19, fired a bullet from a high-powered .50-calibre Desert Eagle pistol through an encyclopedia Pedro Ruiz, 22, was holding in front of his chest.
She said he assured her the thick book would stop the bullet and she shot from a foot away.
Ruiz had earlier told a relative they planned to do the stunt because they “want more viewers”.
The couple have a threeyear-old daughter.
Perez has been charged with second-degree manslaughter which carries a 10-year maximum jail sentence, a fine of £15,400, or both.
She was released on £5,400 bail and ordered to wear a GPS monitor and stay away from firearms.
Police said it appeared Ruiz had convinced Perez to pull the trigger at their home in Halstad, Minnesota, and had shown her a different book which a bullet had not passed through.
Before the stunt she tweeted: “Me and Pedro are probably going to shoot one of the most dangerous videos ever. HIS idea not MINE.” They used two cameras to capture the shot being fired.
Paramedics, who found Ruiz with a single gunshot wound, fought to try to save his life but he died at the scene.
Police found the pistol Perez said she used in grass near the couple’s house. She was initially charged with recklessly discharging a gun. The charge was upgraded to manslaughter on Wednesday.
Ruiz’s aunt, Claudia Ruiz, had told her nephew not to go through with the video.
When her nephew told her his idea, she told him: “‘Don’t do it, don’t do it. Why are you going to use a gun?” She said he replied: “Because we want more viewers.”
The couple started a YouTube channel in March which they said aimed to show “the real life of a young couple who happen to be teen parents”.
Perez had uploaded several videos featuring herself and Ruiz, many of which involved doing pranks, stunts and challenges. Some of the videos also featured their daughter.
The couple’s most recent video, which was uploaded on Monday – the day Ruiz died – was entitled “Doing scary stunts at the fair”.