LAS VEGAS (Scripps News Las Vegas) — New details are revealing what led up to the fatal shooting of two people on the Las Vegas Strip and the subsequent arrest of a suspect.
Manuel Diaz Ruiz appeared in court on June 10, 2025. (Scripps News Las Vegas)
Manuel “Manny” Diaz Ruiz was booked into the Clark County Detention Center on two counts of open murder with a deadly weapon in the shooting deaths of Rodney Albert Finley and Tanisha Laquahn Finley, known online as Finny and Bubbly.
According to the arrest report obtained by Scripps News Las Vegas, Ruiz and Finley were content creators who frequently streamed on YouTube from various locations around Las Vegas.
The two men had an ongoing feud since Halloween of 2023, according to a fellow creator interviewed by police. He was unaware of the specifics of the feud but said the two had recently been in a fight on Fremont Street, and Ruiz was cited.
The night of the incident, Ruiz arrived with his wife at the Paris Hotel and Casino parking garage around 10 p.m. Ruiz’s wife told police they walked around the area of the Las Vegas Strip and ended up in front of the Bellagio, where Finny and Bubbly were also streaming.
Ruiz’s wife said she was holding a camera, Ruiz’s phone mounted on a gimbal, and was walking in front of Ruiz when she heard gunshots. She told police she ran north and located officers, and told them what she heard. She said she didn’t see the shooting, only heard shots.
Investigators asked her if she knew of anyone who would want to harm them. Ruiz’s wife said that some people had made threats and insults toward the family in YouTube messages, and had even gone so far as to send hate mail to their home.
During a later interview, officers asked Ruiz’s wife about a video posted the day prior in which Ruiz was driving in his car, and it sounded like he was threatening someone, announcing his future locations and challenging that person to show up. Ruiz’s wife denied knowledge of the video.
Police responded to a deadly shooting outside the Bellagio Hotel on June 8, 2025. (Scripps News Las Vegas)
As authorities investigated, Ruiz eventually turned himself in to the Henderson Police Department.
When Ruiz arrived at LVMPD headquarters, he was interviewed by detectives. He told authorities Finny had posted content talking negatively about his wife and kids. Ruiz told police he ignores Finny’s videos and does not pay attention to where he streams.
Ruiz confirmed he had a concealed carry permit and always carried when they streamed because of previous altercations and celebrity status, he told authorities.
Ruiz said the night of the shooting, as he and his wife walked northbound on Las Vegas Boulevard, he saw a woman he knew to be “Finny’s girl” and said she was dancing in his face. Ruiz told authorities he saw Finny reaching for his waistband and believed he was getting a gun.
Ruiz said he shot in self-defense, citing his concealed carry training to “eliminate the threat.” Ruiz said he fired at Finny’s torso and waistband to prevent him from getting a gun, but when Finny continued to move, Ruiz aimed higher.
Ruiz then turned to Bubbly and saw her with a shiny black object in her hand, which he believed to be a gun. He said he shot twice at her. When detectives asked Ruiz about Bubbly’s injury to the back of her head, he said she must have turned.
The Clark County Coroner’s Office confirmed that the two victims died from gunshot wounds.
Ruiz said as officers converged on the area, he got scared and ran. He said he hid his gun in the Paris parking garage between a fence and a wall. He said he took off his shirt and his hat and got rid of them. He hailed a rideshare and got a ride to New York-New York. From there, he walked to a friend’s house, who encouraged him to turn himself in.
Scripps News Las Vegas spoke with people who were in the area the night of the shooting and called it a “horrifying situation.”
