[Warning: Potentially Triggering Content]
Whoa. A beef between two YouTube stars has turned deadly.
On Sunday night, two people were shot and killed at around 10:40 p.m. local time in the 3600 block of Las Vegas Boulevard, just outside the Bellagio Hotel and Casino. Then, on Tuesday, the Clark County Coroner’s Office identified the victims as YouTube star Rodney “Finny da Legend” Finley, 44 (pictured above, left), and his wife Tanisha “Bubbly” Finley, 43. The deaths were officially ruled homicides.
Their friend Derek Ware told FOX5 that the Arizona-based content creator was livestreaming from the Strip when his rival Manuel Ruiz (pictured above, right), also a YouTuber under the name Sin City Family, allegedly confronted them and fired several deadly shots. And it was all caught on video!
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In a clip circulating on social media, the couple can be seen hanging on the Strip when a man appearing to resemble Ruiz approaches them and gets into a verbal argument with Tanisha. At that point, the man appeared to pull a gun and aim it off camera, presumably at Finny. The man then fired at least seven times, according to reports.
A recording of the livestream remains online and can be seen in part at the 0:30 mark (below):
Per NBC News, nearby officers rushed to the scene and attempted life saving measures, but the victims died at the scene. Bubbly was shot twice in the head while Finny suffered multiple gunshot wounds, police noted.
After first fleeing the scene on Sunday night, Manuel, 41, turned himself in the next day at the Henderson Police Station, according to a press release from the Las Vegas Metro Police Department via NBC News. TMZ reported that police said he has claimed self-defense. In the meantime, he’s been booked on two counts of open murder with a deadly weapon.
Cops have not specified a motive, but it sounds like these two internet personalities have a long, messy history.
First off, police said in a statement that “the suspect and the victim had previously engaged in some type of conflict using a variety of social media platforms.” While Manuel’s YouTube profile has been taken down, according to TMZ, he posted video of himself hunting for Finny just days before the shooting.
The victim’s friend Derek elaborated, telling FOX5:
“This was brewing, this brewed for two years.”
Jeez.
Ware said he met Finny through one of Ruiz’s livestreams several years ago. The feud between the men allegedly started in 2023 after Ruiz pepper sprayed Bubbly:
“I was saying, ‘I’m just glad it was pepper spray, it wasn’t bullets. I said, ‘I don’t want to, I don’t want to see you here in pain with bullets in you, so let’s figure this out.’”
Despite the incident, Finny never got physical with Manuel, per Derek. However, the victim evidently chose to fight back online instead:
“His wife said she was OK, so he was just like, ‘OK, let’s handle this another way.’ He controls his emotions very well. That’s what I liked about him the most.”
Finny once hosted a livestream in which people could discuss anything. That included Ruiz, who was welcome to join, Ware continued:
“Manny was welcome to come on and defend himself. He kept it fair. It wasn’t just a bash. It wasn’t just, ‘let’s talk about Manny, talk bad about Manny.’ It’s just everybody’s experiences.”
As the feud raged on, Manuel started to lose followers as his rival gained ’em.
But still, it’s hard to imagine an online controversy turning into a real life murder, right? Derek never thought the violence would get to this point. He reflected:
“That’s just, that’s just sickening. That’s just sick. What do you get out of that? I don’t get that. You just ruined two families.”
He remembered Finny as a son, grandfather, and a “good father” who took “care of his kids.” He was known as a friendly guy who “would just always check up on me [if] something was wrong” and “donated to people that needed help online.” Similarly, his late wife “would have fun everywhere she went. People wanted to be around her.” Just so, so sad.
As for that self-defense claim? Per a police report obtained by News 3, Manny argued this was all done in self-defense after he came across the couple while walking with his own wife on the Strip. He claimed he saw Finny reach for his waistband, saying, “What up cuz?” He thought the man was going for a gun, and so he shot in self-defense. He alleged he then saw Bubbly with a “shiny black object in her hand” and shot her. No weapons were reportedly found on the scene, though, or thus far in any videos.
Manuel was ordered to remain in jail without bail during his first court appearance on Tuesday. He is next set to be in court on Thursday. Hear more (below):
Per the Vegas police, anyone who may have more information about the shooting is urged call the Crime Stoppers Hotline at 702-385-5555.
To learn more about the impact of gun violence, visit https://www.apha.org/topics-and-issues/gun-violence.
[Image via Finny Da Legend/SinCity-MannyWise/YouTube]
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