A couple was accused of pointing rifles at a children’s daycare in Miami-Dade, Florida, and now say it was a misunderstanding, according to a WSVN 7News report.
Estrella Maria Pereira, 50, and Miguel Ruiz, 57, allegedly pointed rifles at the facility Monday while taking photos for their social media accounts, WSVN 7News reported. The two were reportedly caught on surveillance footage in a parking lot a few feet away from the building, the outlet reported.
The two were reportedly spotted with two rifles, one of which was loaded, the Miami-Dade Police (MDP) told the outlet. A parent reportedly called the police after the couple allegedly pointed them directly at the building.
“It was a huge mistake. It’s a tremendous mistake, a lack of judgment,” Ruiz told the outlet. (RELATED: FedEx Mistakenly Delivers Rifles To Pennsylvania High School).
The pair both claim to have not known there was a daycare there, “It was a poor decision, the wrong place, during business hours. I didn’t know there was a daycare there,” Pereria told the outlet.
Ruiz reportedly apologized, telling the outlet, “I would give my life for any kid.”
“We’re bodybuilders, and we’re into the social media thing — YouTube channel, you know, Instagram, so forth — and he thought it would be cool to take a picture with a gun, because with muscles and guns, and it sounds really cool, like, if you look at a photograph like that,” Pereria explained to the outlet.
Police found Ruiz kneeling, holding the loaded weapon in a firing position where Pereria was taking photos of him, WSVN reported. The two were ordered to the ground and arrested by the MDP. They were both released Wednesday after posting bond, the outlet noted.
#GUNSHINESTATE I’m terribly sorry’: Florida Woman accused of pointing rifle at Kendall day care in apparent social media stunt bonds out
https://t.co/HvOpeAhkZ7— Lesley Abravanel 🪩 (@lesleyabravanel) April 24, 2024
The couple reportedly said they would not post the photos they took on their social media, WSVN noted. The two have been ordered to stay away from the woman who called the police and the daycare, the outlet reported.
“Super dangerous as a father, or as a grandfather, as I am, to have something like that happen here,” Misael Ruiz, a grandfather of a student, told the outlet. “I’ve been coming to this skating rink since I was a kid, back in the days, and we had kids’ stuff here, but nothing like that.”
“I can’t take it back, unfortunately, but now we got in trouble for something completely ridiculous, all because of social media,” Pereira told the outlet. “It’s ridiculous, and yes, it is getting blown out of proportion, but I do understand the severity and how it could scare somebody because I would be freaked out if I saw somebody doing the same thing. I’d be freaked out.”