Prop gun injures patron

In enclosed spaces like that, with a non-professional person-load, I would have gone down at least one more class of gun; cap gun, I think? Those don't spray at all, right?
 
I can't think of a single compelling reason to discharge any kind of load in a space like that. Not even a cap gun. Plainly, these clowns effed up.
 
It's amazing how many 'gun fight' shows there are across the west. Trains, historic towns, amusement parks...
 
[Joke begins here] You can tell this happened in Canada, because she's not immediately suing them [end joke]

But actually- WHAT!?!?!
How is this not something that you already have mechanisms for preventing?

Not to pile on- but the quote from Aspen comes off like they really hadn't considered this was likely to happen.

Also- I take issue with the article's use of "prop gun" which sounds like it was some kind of replica- which is the whole problem.
 
Without seeing an accident investigation report of the incident, it is disingenuous to speculate on the causes. It is obvious there were mistakes made. Just what those errors might have been is purely speculative at this point. If a full accident report is released (unlikely) , then we can have an open discussion about the incident.

I am a gun wrangler with 50+ years experience with firearms in performance situations, including a current production of Agatha Christie’s “And Then There Were None” (previously known as “Ten Little Indians”). I hold a license to own, carry, purchase and sell firearms in the state of Iowa. As such I feel competent to make a few remarks concerning this event.
The list of possible, probable and obvious mistakes is a long one, but I will try to touch on the most obvious.

Pre-performance planning: The performance should have been planned and blocked to avoid the discharge of a weapon in close proximity to an audience member.

Performer training. All performers in a live fire performance, with a proximate audience must be trained to adjust to conditions that might vary from performance to performance. Those who do not fire a weapon may need to adjust blocking or dialogue to allow the performer firing the weapon to adjust location or position to avoid conflict with any audience members. Those performers that do fire a live weapon must be trained to adjust blocking and timing to suit.
Training must include practice firing and include sessions on muzzle awareness and muzzle discipline.

Event planning. The reenactment or performance must be planned out in advance to avoid any need to discharge a firearm within a specific distance from any audience member. The exact safe distance is dependent on many factors, including the specific weapon, the load in the ammunition, the direction in relation to proximate audience members in which the round is to be discharged.

Weapon/ammunition Choice. Was the weapon chosen for the performance the correct choice for the specific performance/audience proximity/performance space/performer competence, etc. Was the weapon in this case a revolver, semi-auto, rifle, shotgun…..? Should the weapon have been a real weapon firing a blank round? Should it have been a front venting weapon that can only fire blanks? Should it have been a side or top venting weapon that only fires blanks? Should the load have been full, half, quarter…..?

In this case, if the training was in place, it was not sufficient or it was not adhered to. Was the training sufficient? Was the performer competent, under the influence of medication or alcohol or impaired due to a medical condition? Was the audience member moving or “out-of-place”? Was the load in the ammunition correct for the performance? Was the planned blocking appropriate for the physical space and the placement of the proximate audience?

All these things and more will have to be sorted out to in order to study the incident and to implement measures to prevent it from ever happening again.
 
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There's a pretty good sample of the show with this video:
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The Train robbery begins at 3 min 46 seconds.
From the sample here I would assume (and this is an assumption, I have not experienced the attraction) that at no time is a weapon meant to be discharged within the car of the train. The performers are moving around inside the cars and don't really have control of their surroundings.

There are shots that are taken while the performer is inside the train shooting at the "robbers' outside the train. I know if I was doing this show they would be taking these shots from a controlled station with the public kept beyond a controlled barrier.

This woman is extraordinarily understanding. I hope the owners of the attraction realize this and act accordingly.
 

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