Teen Shoots Boyfriend To Death In YouTube Stunt Gone Wrong

In what family members describe as a YouTube stunt gone wrong, a 22-year-old man from Halstad, Minnesota is dead and his pregnant girlfriend is in jail.

Around 6:30 p.m. Monday night, Norman County sheriff’s deputies responded to the 500 block of U.S. Highway 75 on a report of a shooting. Life-saving efforts were made and a medical helicopter was called, but 22-year-old Pedro Ruiz was pronounced dead at the scene.

Ruiz’s girlfriend, 19-year-old Monalisa Perez, was booked into jail for reckless discharge of a firearm.

Ruiz’s aunt told Valley News Live that the couple had been trying to get famous on YouTube, and their pranks were escalating.

“He had told me about an idea. I said, don’t do it, don’t do it,” Claudia Ruiz told Valley News Live. “Why are you going to use a gun? Why?”

Pedro Ruiz apparently gave Perez a 50 caliber handgun and instructed her to shoot a round into a book he was holding, thinking it would stop the bullet. The couple had apparently tested the stunt before attempting it on video.