[SML] Tombstone actor shot when live rounds fired during mock gunfight

[Dale Farmer]

On 10/20/2015 3:10 AM, Dave Vick via Stagecraft wrote:
> On Mon, Oct 19, 2015 at 8:20 PM, Dylan Smith via Stagecraft
> <stagecraft at theatrical.net> wrote:
>
>> So much obviously went wrong here:
>> http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/local/report/101815_tombstone/update-tombstone-actor-shot-when-live-rounds-fired-during-gunfight/
>
>
> I see only one or two things wrong:
>
> Why in HELL are they using firearms that are even capable of
> chambering live rounds?
>
> And what the F*** are they thinking, not having an armorer or gun
> wrangler on-set who is the ONLY person responsible for loading the
> guns (WITH BLANKS, TYVM) in the first place?
>
> Morons... The very air abounds in morons... And people think us
> law-abiding gun owners are crazy... I wonder how they get THAT idea...
>

My understanding (Anyone with direct knowledge is welcome to correct me) 
is that this shootout show has been a regular feature to attract the 
tourists for decades.   The thing has been staged with mostly volunteer 
actors who provided their own weapons, costumes, and so on. I expect 
that things have mostly stayed the same since well before current 
attitudes (and laws) about firearms in performances were enacted. 
Probably a certain amount of complacency had set in, as they had done 
the show many times without incident.  So they felt no strong need to 
change up until now.

   The more detailed story says that normally all the weapons are 
checked for live ammo before each show, but the particular actor was a 
late arrival, and his weapon wasn't checked because of this.   It also 
says that afterwards, when police checked the pistol there were five 
empty casings and one unfired live round.   Which I infer means that 
their were five real bullets fired in the event, one of which hit the 
other actor, and a fragment of one slightly injured an audience member.

   Dale