Security Guard Detained in Shooting of YouTube Star Outside Synagogue and School
Los Angeles CA Feb 16 2019 A YouTube personality known as “Furry Potato” was shot by a school security guard after getting into a confrontation over filming the school.
LAPD confirmed that the person was wounded Thursday afternoon by a school security guard while recording video outside a synagogue and Jewish high school in the Fairfax district.
The wounded person was originally reported by police to be a man in his mid-30s but later identified by the Los Angeles Times as transgender woman Zhoie Perez, known on YouTube as Furry Potato. Video footage that appeared to show the shooting was posted on YouTube by user Funny Potato Live.
The shooting occurred about noon at the Etz Jacob Congregation/Ohel Chana High School in the 7600 block of Beverly Boulevard, according to Los Angeles police.
According to The Times, Perez said she began streaming the encounter when the security guard took his gun out of its holster and shot her in the leg.
The security guard, identified by police as 44-year-old Edduin Zelayagrunfeld, was booked on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon with a firearm, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
Perez considers herself a “first amendment auditor” whose job it is to test the boundaries of her first amendment rights by videotaping locations that she claims are “interesting.” Most recently, Perez has been traveling around Los Angeles filming the LAPD while streaming from her new “Furry Potato Live” channel.
As Perez was approaching from across the street, a security guard in a bright yellow rain jacket videotapes her on his cellphone. “Look at this dumb dumb cam,” Perez shouts at the security guard. She then circles the perimeter of the building, getting images of all the windows, security cameras and doors. The security guard then walks up and places his hand on his firearm.
The pair have a brief exchange, with Perez claiming she is only videotaping the building to learn more about the “Jewish artifacts” on the exterior. The security guard then heads inside a gated barrier and Perez pans to a sign for the SWAT security company in Los Angeles. She wonders if the security guard works there.
At around 3:30 p.m. EST Perez edges closer to the security guard, who warns her to “step away.” As Perez is filming the security guard tells her that he will shoot her if she moves any closer. She moves closer and that’s when witnesses say that the security guard removed his firearm from his holster and shot Perez in the leg.
In Los Angeles, security guards are allowed to carry a firearm but need to have a permit.
Perez has been arrested in the past for her “auditing.” In June of 2018, she was “arrested for making threats at a U.S. Marine Recruiting Station in Valencia, California,” according to USMC Life. She was arrested with a bail of $75,000 and has a court date in July. According to the Signal of Santa Clarita Valley , her misdemeanor counts were dismissed and she had to pay a $100 fine.
