People Really Killed By 'Fake' Weapons
You might cringe while watching a violent movie in which characters are stabbed, shot, strangled, or otherwise grievously harmed, but at least you can tell yourself it's just movie magic, right? But sometimes, a fake weapon can prove to be just as fatal. There have been numerous people slain by fake weapons, including actors ended by prop weapons and even kids who lost their lives trying to pull seemingly harmless pranks, proving that even toys and innocent jokes can sometimes be fatal.
Cinematographer Shot By Prop Gun On Set Of Alec Baldwin Film
Actor Alex Baldwin discharged a prop gun that led to the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the movie Rust in New Mexico on October 21, 2021. Director Joel Souza was wounded. Authorities with the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office said they were investigating the incident and trying to determine "what type of projectile was discharged."
No charges have been made in the incident, and Baldwin, both a star and producer of the film, has been cooperating with authorities. Baldwin released a statement the day after the incident:
There are no words to convey my shock and sadness regarding the tragic accident that took the life of Halyna Hutchins, a wife, mother and deeply admired colleague of ours. I'm fully cooperating with the police investigation to address how this tragedy occurred and I am in touch with her husband, offering my support to him and his family. My heart is broken for her husband, their son, and all who knew and loved Halyna.
Actor Stabbed With Prop Samurai Sword
Actor Daigo Kashino (also called Daigo Naito), 33, was killed when he was stabbed in the stomach with a prop samurai sword during rehearsal for a play in Tokyo in February 2016. Oddly enough, no one saw what happened. They heard Kashino cry out, then saw him bent over in apparent pain. Kashino had appeared in the Japanese TV show Love Shuffle, and was a voice actor in the anime Detective Conan: The Raven Chaser.
Actor Hanged Himself During Immersive Play
Raphael Schumacher, 27, was an actor in an experimental theater work in Italy in February 2016, according to CNN. In this particular play, audience members walked around the space and discovered different scenes. In Schumacher's scene, he gave a monologue before putting his own head in a noose. It wasn't until a med student in the audience noticed him shaking that it was discovered he had accidentally hanged himself.
Schumacher was taken to a hospital, where he remained in a coma until he was declared brain dead. Others involved with the play stated that Schumacher's scene was supposed to be a shooting, but it was the actor's own idea to change it to a hanging.Actor Slit His Own Throat With Prop Knife
Daniel Hoevels, 30, was injured while acting in a play in a Hamburg theater in 2008. Hoevels' character committed suicide by slitting his own throat with a knife. When Hoevels went to act out the scene, he ended up slicing his own throat for real. It turned out that the property manager who bought the knife forgot to blunt the blade.
Hoevels received stitches, and later declined to press charges against the forgetful prop manager.
Brandon Lee Shot By Prop Gun Filming 'The Crow'
One of the most infamous film set tragedies was the death of actor Brandon Lee, 28, in 1993. Lee, the son of actor Bruce Lee, had a starring role in goth cult classic The Crow. The scene in question depicted a group of gang members fatally shooting Lee's character after he walks in on them murdering his fiancée the night before the couple's wedding. A series of mistakes led to a dummy cartridge getting stuck in the barrel of the gun, unknown to the prop crew.
When actor Michael Massee fired the gun at Lee, the dummy round fired just as a real loaded gun would. The bullet struck Lee in the stomach, hitting his aorta. He died in a nearby hospital following hours of surgery. The film was completed using Lee's stunt double and CGI.
A Young Actor Shot Himself In The Head
In 1984, actor Jon-Erik Hexum accidentally shot himself in the head. Hexum had a role on CBS's Cover Up. When he was told about some production delays, he jokingly picked up a prop gun, put it to his head, and pulled the trigger. Though the gun had been loaded with blanks instead of real bullets, the impact fractured his skull and drove a shard of it into his brain. Hexum was only 26. His final words were, "Can you believe this crap?"
Teen Hanged Himself At Haunted House
Though many real-dead-body-in-a-Halloween-haunted-house stories are merely urban legends, one was tragically real. Brian Jewell, 17, was performing at a haunted hayride in New Jersey in 1990. His scene was set at a gallows, from which Jewell was meant to appear to hang from a prop rope.
Jewell typically delivered a monologue as the cart drove by, but when he did not during one particular show, the driver became worried and discovered that Jewell had inadvertently hanged himself.
Teen Accidentally Hanged Himself From A Tree
And in 2001, a 14-year-old Michigan teen named Caleb Rebh also died in a strikingly similar manner. He was a scare actor at a haunted hayride. He was meant to startle guests at a tree, from which a prop skeleton was hanging by a noose. Rebh got the idea to put the noose around his own neck and thought it would be safe to do so as his feet would theoretically remain on the ground.
What Rebh didn't predict was that the branch would snap back, pulling the rope tight around his throat. Those who saw him struggling to breathe at first thought it was just part of the show.
Actor Fatally Shot On Action Movie Set
Mexican actor Antonio Velasco Gutierrez died while filming an action sequence at a hotel in Cuernavaca for the low-budget film Revenge of the Scorpion. In the scene, Valasco's character was to be shot by actor Flavio Peniche's character. Peniche was given a gun loaded with real bullets, as opposed to blanks.
Gutierrez died later at a nearby hospital. The prop master, who was apparently known as "The Brush," fled the scene.
Teen Shot Himself While Preparing For School Musical
Tucker Thayer was on the tech crew for a performance of the musical Oklahoma at his Utah high school. The students used a real gun loaded with live blanks in the show. Thayer was alone when, while handling the gun, it discharged and he was fatally shot. Thayer's parents sued for negligence, as the gun was never supposed to be handled by students, especially without supervision.
Rapper Shot While Filming Music Video
An up-and-coming rapper named Keaway Lafonz Ivy, 21, was shot in 2015 while filming a music video in Washington, D.C. Ivy, who went by his stage name, Kealo was shot in the chest by Lafonzo Leonard Iracks, with what was meant to be a prop gun. Iracks fled the scene, but was soon after arrested.
