Monalisa Perez Fatally Shoots Boyfriend Pedro Ruiz III After Alleged YouTube Video Stunt Goes Wrong

A Minnesota woman who was charged in the fatal shooting of her boyfriend told authorities the incident was a video stunt gone wrong.

Monalisa Perez, of Halstad, was charged Wednesday with second-degree manslaughter in the death of Pedro Ruiz III.

According to a criminal complaint, the 19-year-old Perez told authorities Ruiz, 22, wanted to make a YouTube video of her shooting a bullet into a book he was holding against his chest. The couple believed the book would be enough to stop the bullet. She says she fired from about a foot (0.3 meters) away.

The victim’s aunt, Claudia Ruiz, tells WDAY-TV that the couple played pranks and put them on YouTube. The couple’s YouTube channel, La MonaLisa, consists of several prank and challenge videos featuring the couple and their 3-year-old daughter. According to Twin Cities Pioneer Press, Perez told the first responders that she and Ruiz were chasing YouTube fame and were hoping to gain more followers on their channel.

Perez tweeted moments before the incident that she and Ruiz would be attempting their most dangerous stunt yet.

The couple’s daughter was reported to be a witness to the accident. First responders attempted life-saving procedures when they arrived at the scene but it was too late for Ruiz who succumbed to a single gunshot wound to the chest. Perez was pregnant with the couple’s second child at the time of the shooting.

The New York Times reports that Perez faces up to 10 years in prison and a maximum fine of $20,000. She was granted a public defender and released on $7,000 bail.