Monalisa Perez, 19, is in the process of being charged with second-degree manslaughter after shooting her boyfriend Pedro Ruiz, 22, in a failed YouTube stunt.
On Monday evening, the young couple were filming a video in an attempt to increase the following of their channel when the worst thing possible happened. The premise of the video was to prove that a book held in front of the body would stop a bullet from piercing the skin. Perez was positioned roughly a foot away from Ruiz who stood holding a hardback encyclopaedia against his chest. In a tragic turn of events, the bullet shot through the book and wounded Ruiz, resulting in his passing at the scene.
Before the attempted stunt, Perez sent a tweet to her followers teasing them with a hint of what the video would be. She mentioned the high level of danger present and her hesitation to carry out what Ruiz had planned.
Claudia Ruiz, aunt of Pedro told reporters at WDAY-TVthat 'it was just a prank gone wrong' and that the couple wanted to get famous and increase their following on social media, despite her pleading with her nephew not to do it.
Perez is currently being charged with manslaughter, and if convicted could face up to 10 years imprisonment. The couple are parents to a three-year-old child who was present whilst the stunt backfired, and have another child on the way.
This is just adding to the hundreds of gun-related incidents that prove laws need changing in America to ensure devastating things like this doesn’t happen. What is it going to take before things change in the US?
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Image: YOUTUBE
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.