People have always sought fame, be it through hard work, trying to bring about change in society or doing stunts. These days, however, YouTube has seemingly made becoming famous much easier, at least if you're willing to risk a limb or two, considering the rising saturation of channels across categories.
However, for one young couple, a stunt made for getting more followers ended in tragedy when the girlfriend ended up shooting her boyfriend in the chest. Monalisa Perez, 19 and pregnant, and her boyfriend, Pedro Ruiz, 22, ran a popular YouTube channel where they filmed themselves doing stunts, pranks and challenges. With more than 13,000 subscribers, they were well on their way to YouTube fame, but a poorly thought out stunt by Pedro ended their career and his life.
Pedro suggested a stunt where Monalisa would shoot him in the chest while he held a book to stop the bullet. Despite being against the stunt, Monalisa reportedly agreed to it and they went on to film the stunt, which involved him holding a hardbound encyclopedia and Monalisa shooting him with a .50 cal Desert Eagle, one of the most powerful handguns in the world. The bullet was not stopped by the book like Pedro expected, but tore through the book and his chest. The entire incident was reportedly witnessed by their 3 year old daughter.
Monalisa desperately called the authorities, explaining what happened. Paramedics attempted to save Pedro, but failed. Monalisa is currently under arrest for second-degree manslaughter and reckless discharge of a firearm. She is currently seven months pregnant with their second child. Pedro's aunt expressed significant shock at the incident, saying the two were in love with each other and that this should not have happened.
The video of the stunt itself has not seen the day and is unlikely to ever surface.
