By Emily Blackwood — Written on Apr 29, 2020
“Me and Pedro are probably going to shoot one of the most dangerous videos ever. His idea, not mine.”
That was the tweet a then 19-year-old Monalisa Perez sent before she shot and killed her boyfriend on June 26, 2017 with a gold Desert Eagle .50-caliber handgun. It was a failed attempt to prove that a book could stop a bullet shot from a foot away for their YouTube Channel.
The Minnosota teen told police that her boyfriend, Pedro Ruiz, planned the stunt and used a hardcover encyclopedia to protect himself.
According to police, Ruiz had convinced Perez to do the stunt by showing her a book that had successfully stopped a bullet.
Photo: Northwest Regional Corrections Center / AP
He died at the scene, and the incident was filmed on two cameras.
The couple, who had been dating for five years, had recorded at least 18 videos together for their channel that's now called MonaLisa and Fam since May 2017, which had promoted, at the time, "the real life of a young couple who happen to be teen parents. From highs to lows. Achievements to struggles.”
They performed stunts and pulled pranks on each other in the hopes of getting more subscribers. Eating the world's hottest pepper and staying at a haunted hotel were some of their tamer videos.
They even announced the gender of their second child on their channel for their subscribers. In one video, Perez had said she was 25 weeks pregnant and decided to name the newborn after Ruiz.
"I'm a little nervous for things to change, but I think it's normal to be nervous," she told her viewers in the now-deleted video.
Their daughter, who was only three at the time and had been featured in a few of their videos, witnessed the shooting.
“I wish they wouldn’t have done it. I wish he would’ve just done another prank,” the victim’s aunt, Claudia Ruiz, had said in an interview. She also said that the couple did the stunt to boost Perez's online following.
"He had told me about that idea and I said, 'Don't do it. Don't do it. Why are you going to use a gun? Why?'" Ruiz said. "They were in love, they loved each other. It was just a prank gone wrong."
Perez was charged with second-degree manslaughter, which she pleaded guilty to and originally faced up to 4 years in prison, and a fine of up to $20,000. She posted a $7,000 bail. Police said they were not going to release the video of the shooting.
However, she was released in 2018 after receiving a plea deal that included a lifetime ban of owning a firearm, 180 days in prison, and a supervised probation of 10 years.
Perez returned to taping videos for her channel in summer 2018 after she was released, which are just everyday accounts of her life as a working mother. She also appears to be in a new relationship.
Emily Blackwood is a freelance writer, editor and journalist who covers small business, pop culture, travel, e-commerce, health and wellness.
Editor's Note: This article was originally posted on June 29, 2017 and was updated with the latest information.
