Wild West Re-enactment got too wild and too real.
Two people were hit with real bullets during a gunfight re-enactment in the Old West town of Tombstone that was supposed to involve blanks. The shooting occurred Sunday afternoon as two actors in the Tombstone Vigilantes group engaged in a standoff as they re-enacted an episode from the Arizona town made famous by Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, and the OK Corral. The Tombstone Marshal's Office says one of the actor's guns fired live rounds, hitting a fellow member of the group. Ken Curtis fell to the ground and was flown to a hospital in Tucson, where he underwent surgery to remove the bullet. Other rounds struck businesses and a bystander whose condition was not immediately known. The marshal says authorities inspected the weapon and found one live round in the cylinder, along with five casings that indicated the six-shooter was filled with live rounds prior to the skit. At least two of the live rounds struck nearby businesses, with one bullet hitting a female bystander. Tombstone authorities called it an "unprecedented" event in the town and advised the group to put future gunfights on hold. "Tombstone takes pride in the safety and security of its townspeople and tourists alike and the citizens of Tombstone can be assured that stringent safety protocol will be enforced prior to allowing any further gunfight skits," the Marshal's Office said in a statement.
Two people were hit with real bullets during a gunfight re-enactment in the Old West town of Tombstone that was supposed to involve blanks. The shooting occurred Sunday afternoon as two actors in the Tombstone Vigilantes group engaged in a standoff as they re-enacted an episode from the Arizona town made famous by Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, and the OK Corral. The Tombstone Marshal's Office says one of the actor's guns fired live rounds, hitting a fellow member of the group. Ken Curtis fell to the ground and was flown to a hospital in Tucson, where he underwent surgery to remove the bullet. Other rounds struck businesses and a bystander whose condition was not immediately known. The marshal says authorities inspected the weapon and found one live round in the cylinder, along with five casings that indicated the six-shooter was filled with live rounds prior to the skit. At least two of the live rounds struck nearby businesses, with one bullet hitting a female bystander. Tombstone authorities called it an "unprecedented" event in the town and advised the group to put future gunfights on hold. "Tombstone takes pride in the safety and security of its townspeople and tourists alike and the citizens of Tombstone can be assured that stringent safety protocol will be enforced prior to allowing any further gunfight skits," the Marshal's Office said in a statement.
