‘Dangerous’ video shoot ends in death

Associated Press

HALSTAD, Minn.

A Minnesota woman charged with fatally shooting her boyfriend in a failed YouTube video stunt foreshadowed the event when she tweeted that it would be “one of the most dangerous videos ever.”

Monalisa Perez, of Halstad, was charged Wednesday with second-degree manslaughter in the death of Pedro Ruiz III. Perez, who is pregnant, was released on $7,000 bail. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.

According to the criminal complaint filed by Norman County Sheriff Jeremy Thornton, the 19-year-old Perez told investigators that Ruiz wanted to make a video of her shooting a bullet into a book he was holding against his chest. She says she fired from about a foot away.

Hours before the Tuesday night shooting, Perez tweeted: “Me and Pedro are probably going to shoot one of the most dangerous videos ever. HIS idea not MINE.”

Ruiz’s aunt, Lisa Primeau, said her nephew was always chasing a thrill and “putting a dangerous twist on everything he did.”

Primeau said that included jumping into a swimming pool from the top of a house. Many of the videos on Perez’s YouTube channel are of her and Ruiz playing pranks and performing stunts.