Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

SoylentNews is powered by your submissions, so send in your scoop. Only 18 submissions in the queue.
posted by n1 on Monday July 03 2017, @01:47PM   Printer-friendly
from the here-is-your-5-minutes-of-fame dept.

A Minnesota woman has been charged with manslaughter after she shot and killed her boyfriend as part of the pair’s attempt to become YouTube celebrities.

According to court documents, Monalisa Perez called 911 on June 26 at around 6:30pm local time to say that she had shot Pedro Ruiz III. The two had set up two video cameras to capture Perez firing the gun at Ruiz while he held a book in front of his chest. Ruiz apparently convinced Perez that the book would stop the bullet from a foot away. The gun, a Desert Eagle .50 caliber pistol, was not hindered by the book.

[...] A video filmed the day before the shooting features Perez excitedly imagining what would happen when the couple reached 300,000 subscribers on their YouTube channel.

According to a Star Tribune report citing a nearby television station in North Dakota, the shooting took place near the couple's home as their three-year-old daughter was nearby. An aunt of Ruiz, who was not named by WDAY-TV, was quoted as saying that she knew what they planned to do and that she tried to talk them out of it.

The aunt said Ruiz replied, "'Because we want more viewers. We want to get famous.'"

Perez, 19, was released on bail on Wednesday. She is pregnant with the couple's second child.

Further details from The New York Times:

Ms. Perez told investigators that she had shot Mr. Ruiz from about a foot away while he held a 1.5-inch thick book to his chest, the authorities said. She described using a firearm that matched the pistol that was found at the scene.

Mr. Ruiz had been “trying to get her” to fire the gun “for a while,” Ms. Perez told investigators, according to court documents. They state that he had set up one camera on the back of a vehicle and another on a ladder to capture the stunt.

To help persuade her to pull the trigger, Mr. Ruiz had even shown Ms. Perez a book that he had previously shot himself, she told investigators. In that case, she said, the bullet had not gone all the way through the text.

See also: CNN.

-- submitted from IRC


Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 2) by Lagg on Tuesday July 04 2017, @07:24AM

    by Lagg (105) on Tuesday July 04 2017, @07:24AM (#534709) Homepage Journal

    I'm cognizant of the fact that using this his name too much results in arguments falling on deaf ears before they even start because of what the usual expectation for discourse is now. Which I don't help by repeatedly calling him an insane idiot, but if it looks like a donald duck. Also I vent frequently because trying to get into this guy's mind is in itself an insane endeavor and it confuses me to the point of frustration so it leaks through when I try to discuss the topic.

    You won't see me naming gun models much either, because even if I had the knowledge to know I was correct in what I remembered. Certain gun names are going to insta-wreck your argument even if they're completely irrelevant. e.g. "How bout them AR-15s?"

    --
    http://lagg.me [lagg.me] 🗿
    Starting Score:    1  point
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  

    Total Score:   2