In a tragic incident on June 26, 2017, a 22-year-old Hispanic male named Pedro Ruiz III lost his life in Halstad, Minnesota. His death was the result of a YouTube stunt gone horribly wrong, a desperate attempt to gain online fame that ended in a fatal miscalculation. The person behind the trigger was his girlfriend, Monalisa Perez, who was 19 at the time and pregnant with their second child.
The couple had a YouTube channel where they posted videos of pranks and stunts, hoping to grow their audience.
The fatal stunt was conceived by Ruiz himself. He planned to hold a hardcover encyclopedia against his chest while Perez, standing about a foot away, would shoot at it with a. 50-caliber Desert Eagle pistol. They believed the thick book would stop the bullet. Ruiz had reportedly shown Perez another book that a bullet had not fully penetrated to convince her the stunt was safe. Despite her expressed reservations, which she even tweeted about hours before the incident, stating it was his idea and not hers, the couple proceeded with their plan. Two cameras were set up to record the event, and their three-year-old daughter was reportedly a witness. The bullet, however, pierced the book and struck Ruiz in the chest. Perez immediately called 911, telling the operator that they were making a YouTube video that went wrong. Paramedics arrived, but Ruiz was pronounced dead at the scene from a single gunshot wound.
Following the shooting, Monalisa Perez was arrested and charged with second-degree manslaughter. In December 2017, she pleaded guilty to the charge. Her plea agreement resulted in a 180-day jail sentence, which she was allowed to serve in increments over three years, with the remainder to be served under home confinement. The agreement also included 10 years of supervised probation and a lifetime ban on owning firearms. Additionally, Perez was prohibited from profiting financially from the video recording of the fatal stunt. The case drew significant media attention, highlighting the potential dangers of seeking internet fame through reckless and dangerous acts. Family members described Ruiz as a "daredevil" who was always chasing a thrill, but they also emphasized the love between the young couple, viewing the incident as a prank that had tragically gone wrong.
