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Teen shoots boyfriend in Youtube video stunt gone wrong

By Ray Downs
Monalisa Perez was charged with second-degree manslaughter in the accidental shooting death of her boyfriend, Pedro Ruiz III. Photo courtesy Monalisa Perez/Twitter
Monalisa Perez was charged with second-degree manslaughter in the accidental shooting death of her boyfriend, Pedro Ruiz III. Photo courtesy Monalisa Perez/Twitter

June 28 (UPI) -- A 19-year-old Minnesota woman shot her boyfriend in the chest as part of a Youtube video stunt gone wrong, police said.

Monalisa Perez was charged Wednesday with second-degree manslaughter for fatally shooting 22-year-old Pedro Ruiz III in Halstad, Minn. She was released on a $7,000 bail shortly after her first court appearance.

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Prosecutors said Perez, who has a Youtube page with nearly two dozen videos of her and her boyfriend pulling pranks and stunts, attempted to pull off another stunt leading to Ruiz's death.

During that stunt, Pedro Ruiz covered his chest with a thick book to show that it would stop a bullet. Perez fired a gun at the book, but the bullet went all the way through and killed her boyfriend.

According to prosecutors, Perez was about 1 foot away when she fired a .50 caliber pistol.

Pedro Ruiz died before he could be airlifted to a hospital.

Before the fatal incident, Perez tweeted about the upcoming stunt she and Pedro Ruiz were going to pull off.

"Me and Pedro are probably going to shoot one of the most dangerous videos ever. HIS idea not MINE," she wrote.

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"They were in love. It was just a prank gone wrong," Claudia Ruiz, Pedro Ruiz's aunt, told WDAY. "It shouldn't have happened like this. It shouldn't have happened at all."

The couple had been busy creating videos, with 18 posted within the last month. Pedro Ruiz had been working for a railway company and studying to be a foreman, reported the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

The couple had one child and another on the way.

"It's a tragic incident. What she did ... she has to live with that," Claudia Ruiz said. "It's the worst punishment she can get. She is pregnant with their second kid. It's just heartbreaking."

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