A security guard shot a YouTuber who was filming a synagogue as part of a live-stream on Thursday, with thousands of followers watching the events as they unfolded live.
Warning: the above video contains language and graphic moments.
Zhoie Perez, who runs the YouTube channel Furry Potato, began filming a security guard outside a Los Angeles synagogue on Thursday as part of a "First Amendment audit," a practice in which people film guards and law enforcement officers to test their reactions and knowledge of the First Amendment. Perez says: "It’s not only about shining a light on the crooked bad cops, but shining an even brighter light on the good cops... You put yourself in places where you know chances are the cops are going to be called. Are they going to uphold the Constitution, uphold the law, or break the law?” Perez says she initially began filming the Etz Jacob Congregation and Ohel Chana High School for its architecture, but turned it into an audit after a security guard aggressively confronted her.
In the approximately 40-minute video, the guard, Edduin Zelayagrunfeld, draws his weapon for several minutes, before firing a shot around the four-minute mark that grazes Perez' leg, followed by the guard yelling that it was a "warning shot." In a comment on the video, Perez' wife says she was detained during the encounter due to the guard calling police and lying about the events, but police did not charge her with any crime and eventually arrested the guard and charged him with assault with a deadly weapon.
“First amendment audit” kind of sounds like entrapment.
Hopefully that cop will get fired and sued or some jail time.
A First Amendment audit sounds really stupid, but it doesn't threaten anybody. It's just video. Anybody who feels "threatened" by a video camera, enough to fire a shot like this guard, should not be in a job in which they carry a gun. They are in the wrong job.
I don't like random people recording me with no reason why. It just puts you in a reactionary state like okay what's going on. Am I about to be pranked? Are they about to do something? It's not great.
That being said what the security guard did is stupid, awful, and he should get jail time for this obviously.
But being put in a "first amendment check" for no reason is a really creepy, weird thing to do. Don't do it. It's dumb.
They were charges with a felony assault with a deadly weapon. He will never be able to get a handgun licence for the rest of his life.
A security guard is not a cop. They're glorified bouncers, but some of them could be police officers moonlighting for a little extra money.
The two guys are as crazy as each other.
No part of the video showed the guard aiming or firing. Without knowing more it's entirely possible the security guard had a negligent discharge and it's possible due to the total lack of gunshot injury the camera holder was hit by shrapnel and not a bullet and that's if a shot was even fired at all. Police officer "I'm going to move your hand, I don't see any blood"
Are you out of your mind? You can see the guard getting ready to shoot at 4:03. You can hear the shot at 4:07. And after the shot he says it was a "warning shot". He actually explains his own stupid actions. That is 100% intentional. Why was that moron so determined to shoot at someone making a video?!
The guard is clearly seen fire a shot to the ground. He stated that it was a warning shot, and pretended that nobody was hurt. It's pretty irresponsible to fire a shot to the ground in an area like that. That security guard is in trouble.
Yeah, "warning shot" is found far more in fiction than real life. Police use was officially abandoned as foolish decades ago. If the situation justifies use of lethal force, someone's life is in danger and the shot needs to be for real. One officer noted that besides wasting ammunition and endangering bystanders, a warning shot was going to put a fleeing suspect into afterburner, rather than make them stop.
About the only valid use is to scare off an aggressive animal, which won't recognize what a gun is but could be driven away by the sound. Even that is reserved for isolated areas.
Completely agree. It's equally dangerous to shoot to the ground or the air in a populated area.
How many times are people going to try and get internet famous by doing something stupid? Approaches a security guard close enough to possibly get hit by a ricochet, wearing a backpack and silently filming without saying anything. Bombs go in backpacks and some of these guys were in the service in the middle east where they love to film service men being attacked or bombed.
So is the plan to approach an officer with a camera as close as you can without saying anything and wait til they give enough warnings before they act, so you can film what they do after? All while screaming "Everyone share this video! Don't forget to like my page! Hit the like button!" Why not yell out your page url as well in case the video gets shared? Better yet wear a shirt like nascar with all your sponsors on it? This "let's go mess with some cops to video what they do" era needs to end. It's not news.
The plan is to make recordings in public and find out who's going to violate the First Amendment about it. Plan worked. One more gun-toting loonie identified.
These “auditors” are nothing but paycheck chasers. They do no service to the public. They put LEOS and their families at risk! I have no respect for them. If they want to become famous then do it another way, but harassing people for doing their job is stupid. Sure this guard was dumb, that said with all the attacks on Jewish temples lately, I can see how he was edge. And these people test the limits as far as they can go! Not ok, and most of them are very rude with no manners. I don’t use the word hate that much, but I hate auditors. They are scum bags.
I think that the guard needs to have his gun license taken away at very least, but I can't feel much sympathy for the idiot that got shot... When you test people, there's always a chance that the person might fail the test. That's why most people with a shred of sense wouldn't test a person with a firearm.
Dang! Almost another idiot to add to the Darwin Challenge
I really wish it would say grazed, not shot. She was not shot directly, the bullet ricochet off the ground, and a fragment grazed her leg. It's a superficial wound, and not at all dire like she portrayed it to be. Not condoning what that moron guard did, but she too is an idiot for 'auditing' places for internet fame. You can also tell that guard had no weapon training as he ducked like someone scared of their weapon when he pulled the trigger. So, all in all, places should stop hiring two-bit sham guards and SJWs should stop trying to agonize security.
A "warning shot" at someone making video?! That's really messed up. Illegal, crazy assault. That security guard needs to find a new job quickly — a job that does not involve any guns.
Hopefully in the Twin Towers cafeteria.
Stupid people partaking in stupid things with a stupid ending.
When can we make "above average IQ" a requirement to procreate?
Could someone test the 1st Amendment without picking on a minority group that has to hire armed security like this because they’ve been targeted for violence so many times?
Still, there’s no such thing as warning shots in the US under the law. You must be in imminent danger and shoot only at that imminent danger.
Not owning a firearm, I'm not really up to date on my gun laws, but are you even allowed to fire a "warning shot"?
No, you are not.
You are something special to think that your friend's daughters were in more danger of the camera woman than the guard himself...
You should be a lot more cautious and attentive of the law overstepping their duty, considereing all the trauma it caused your community.
The fact that you are so willfully ok with a facist response to such benin act of mild civil disruption (and let's be honest, she wasn't disrupting much) is disturbing.
A security guard who "did nothing" when there was no imminent threat would be called "a professional".
The shooting at the Pittsburgh Synagogue was not too long ago, why would this idiot think that anything good could come out of this stunt? Perhaps he should come up with a safer endeavor. While we’re talking about idiots, why would the guard draw his weapon? He was not being threatened, it was simply someone with a video camera.
You would think that if someone is going to vote a response down, they would post a reason why.
Wondering what this has to do with photography. Yea, he had a camera rolling, but when a man bludgeons another man with a hammer, or maybe a man wearing a hi-vis vest, I'd guess it's not covered in the professional contractor or construction industry blogs. Just my 2-cents.
Manny: The purpose of these audits is to test people reactions, especially law enforcement, when a person attempts to videotape or photograph in a public place. By design the audits are at places that push the envelope of acceptability like city halls, post offices, police stations or outside military bases (which google earth displays every day). By testing these extreme situations it reveals the training and behaviors of officers. It can be very unpleasant to watch because these auditors can be very argumentative, vulgar and rude. I don't like some of their tactics, but then again I am many times appalled by law enforcement's response of coercion, intimidation, legal and physical threats that reinforce the auditor's points .
I am not supporting either side but as a photographer that finds his photographic options shrinking I would hope that public spaces, especially historical landmarks, would not be restricted simply because of paranoia over a camera. Sadly few realize that most pictures taken of them are by city cameras and not photographers. This is why public photography hasn't been banned yet in the U.S.; it would prevent government surveillance, don't you think?
I see two fools. when someone with a firearm tells you to go away. You should go away at a very brisk pace. And with what has happened in Pittsburgh fresh in everyone's memory, I would think a Synagogue would be the last place you should try something like this. The guard should be prosecuted for discharging his weapon. The fool wanted Fame. He got it. I have no doubt the Fool will do it again. First Amendment Audit sounds like Bull to me.
It is, these so called civilian auditors which sounds very professional are anything but. They are just low lives with a new camera wanting YouTube hits and if possible make money on our tax dollars by trying to bait law enforcement and other workers into a altercation. They are the lowest of the low!
Your head line is somewhat misleading. “Was Shot: Ths is not true, He was shot at.....not shot. Suggest an audit of the headline.
If someone fires a handgun and the bullet hits someone. They have been shot. No matter if it bounced off of something first of not.
I see a big pay day for that guy getting shot. The high cost of low living.
There are lots of ways to "make a point." But when somebody is pointing a loaded weapon at you, it's time to stop making your point and walk away. Your point was made the moment the pistol was unholstered.
This is a great point. Sticking around isn't worth the alternative.
There are all kinds of thing wrong in this event...
The guard is clearly agitated. Just look at him rocking back and forth. I've never seen a gun rushed to a hospital emergency room...I would have left well enough alone the instant he drew his weapon. Your right to record won't stop a crazy person from shooting you.
At any time if either individual felt threatened or feared for their lives the police could have been called. All the YT'er would have to say is that a gun was being pointed at him followed by the location. The place would have been swarmed by tactical officers.
As for the guard, the law does not permit warning shots in that application. He's there to protect property and people inside and someone with a backpack and camera isn't a threat. You can't shoot people based on what you "think" they have inside a backpack. If the YT'ber had intentions of using a bomb he wouldn't be standing their like an idiot recording the entire encounter...
The whole thing is dumb on both sides.
The videographer clearly has a poor sense of self-preservation. That's a nice way of saying he's an idiot. If someone who was upset at my behavior—whether or not what I was doing was legal and harmless—pulled a gun on me I'd back down and beat it rather than argue with him about my constitutional rights. If you want to live long and prosper, you don't poke wasp nests with sticks, throw rocks at a bull, or provoke a guy with a gun.
If someone threatens you with a deadly weapon and you have it on video, that's enough evidence to convict. You don't need to stick around and see if he'll actually shoot you. I blame this on a liberal arts college education.
A 17 year old boy was arrested in Georgia recently for video taping on a public sidewalk in a neighborhood. He was arrested not for voyeurism or trespassing but for obstruction of justice for not providing ID. Apparently the officers felt that a secondary charge was appropriate since they had no other crime to charge. I know these 1st amendment audits look dangerous, baiting, glory bits for YouTube, but they also reveal a general abuse of authority by law enforcement under the guise of public safety. The officers went to the boy's house to tell his Dad that they had arrested him. When the Dad stood up for his son and said that the arrest was illegal the officers lectured the Dad and tried to escalate the situation. I know there are rude 1st amendment auditors but they are making sure that our rights, especially those of young adults, are not abused by wrong-thinking police. I am not advocating disrespect or violence against police but I am asserting that they exercise the same thoughtfulness back to us. Photography is not a crime.
He was not shot, it was a ricochet or springing up concrete. I even think the guard had his gun go off unintentionally. In each case, neither showed a lot of intelligence in this case. Sad article and video title. If he had been shot in the leg, the bones would have broken and he would have been on the floor in 1second flat.
Zhoie Perez should go after the UC Berkeley liberals, it is very disturbing that conservatives are getting attacked for wanting to defend free speech. Zhoie Perez should be looked at as a terrorist with anti-semitic tendencies. The security guard was just doing his job. It would freak me out if someone was out side my church with a video camera for over forty minutes I would have suspicions about him too. There have been too many attacks against the Jewish community for them to take chances.
wow. The way that guard was dancing around, he has no business being an armed guard. Frankly, I think the idiot just had his finger on the trigger when he shouldn't have and his antsiness caused him too pull it.
This guy is going to get one heck of a pay day.
The guard is also lucky it was California... I can think of some states where the passersby would have all drawn and shot the guard.