Authorities: Boyfriend killed as video stunt goes wrong

Pregnant woman allegedly shot .50-cal pistol at book

MINNEAPOLIS — A 19-year-old woman shot at a book her boyfriend was holding against his chest, killing him at close range outside their northwestern Minnesota home in what was a video-recorded stunt gone awry, according to a criminal complaint filed yesterday.

Monalisa Perez was charged with second-degree manslaughter in Norman County District Court and remains in a regional jail in Crookston in connection with the shooting Monday night in Halstad of 22-year-old Pedro Ruiz III.

Perez, who is pregnant, appeared from a regional jail by video at a Norman County court proceeding yesterday. She was held on $7,000 cash bail.

Ruiz held up the book — described by County Attorney James Brue as a hardcover encyclopedia — and Perez pulled the trigger on a .50-caliber Desert Eagle pistol, trying to see whether the bullet would go through, according to the criminal complaint.

A few hours before the shooting, a posting went up on Perez’s Twitter account that read: “Me and Pedro are probably going to shoot one of the most dangerous videos ever. HIS idea not MINE.” The note included two wide-eyed emoji faces and another of an eyecovering monkey with a gaping mouth.

The Desert Eagle is described by retailer Cabela’s in an online ad as “one of the world’s most powerful semiautomatic handguns.”

Brue said there are “multiple videos” of the shooting, and they will not be released publicly at this time.

“We called him our little daredevil,” said Lisa Primeau, an aunt who added that she “pretty much raised” Ruiz. His mother died in Texas when he was young after which living with his father didn’t work out, Primeau said.

Primeau said Ruiz was always chasing a thrill, “putting a dangerous twist on everything he did.” His antics included “jumping into the swimming pool from the top of the house, no hesitation. He was a crazy driver with go-carts.”

She said Ruiz also “had plenty of guns. He liked guns.”

Perez has a YouTube channel with many videos made by the couple. The most recent one went up the morning before the shooting. It’s titled “Doing Scary Stunts at the Fair, Part I” and shows the couple attending a fair last week. Ruiz and a young relative were featured enjoying various rides.