There Was A Real Shooting At The OK Corral During A Historical Re-Enactment

Via Facebook: TheTombstoneVigilantes

A re-enactment of the infamous 1800s-era gunfight at the OK Corral in Tombstone, Arizona, became a bit too authentic Sunday when an actor fired live rounds and struck another actor in the upper thigh.

Tom Carter, a volunteer actor with the nonprofit Western re-enactment group Tombstone Vigilantes, shot Ken Curtis during a skit of the July 1882 shoot-out between Cochise County Deputy Sheriff Kiv Phillips and Mexican outlaw Filemeno Orante on Allen Street, said Jeff Miller, chief of the Tombstone Vigilantes.

The corral is more famously known for the 1881 shootout between outlaw Cowboys Tom and Frank McLaury; Ike and Billy Clanton; and Billy Claiborne against Marshals Virgil, Wyatt, and Morgan Earp; Johnny Behan; and Doc Holliday.

Curtis was airlifted to University of Arizona Medical Center where he underwent surgery to have the bullet removed.

The group canceled all shows until the Tombstone Marshal’s Office completes its investigation.

“We don’t know where our system failed,” said Miller, who has been with the group for 20 years. “We’ll fix whatever it takes to get us back up and running again.”

Miller said actors have all of their guns inspected by an armorer — a group safety officer who checks to make sure the weapons are clean and empty of live rounds or blanks — before the actors rehearse and perform the skits scheduled for the day.

But Carter allegedly showed up late to have his weapon checked by the group’s armorer, said Marshal Bob Randall with the Tombstone Marshal’s Office.

Marshals inspected Carter’s gun and determined he fired five shots. The rounds struck local businesses and a bullet fragment lacerated a woman's neck who was standing along the street. She declined medical treatment.

The Cochise County Sheriff's Office classified the incident on Monday as aggravated assault based on the recklessness and seriousness of the injury. The office has not made any arrests.

Via Facebook: TheTombstoneVigilantes

Randall called Sunday’s shoot-out “an isolated event.” He said that Tombstone has about four registered re-enactment groups and none have ever fired live rounds during a performance.

The Marshal’s office expects to introduce a city ordinance by next week that would require re-enactment actors to undergo background checks before handling a weapon. It would also establish some oversight mechanism to ensure that the organization’s internal safety protocols are followed.

The Tombstone Vigilantes were established in 1947. They perform in time-period costume every Sunday afternoon around 12:30 p.m. on Allen Street, the town's popular tourist area.

Miller says the group's aim is to "preserve a Western atmosphere" in the town.

"We try to re-enact the true events as they happened," he said. "When tourists come into Tombstone for a visit, we try to give them a flavor of what it was like 100 years ago."

Curtis is expected to recover from his injuries — unlike Deputy Sheriff Phillips, who died in the 1882 gunfight while attempting to arrest Orante. Phillips also fatally shot Orante, who laid dying in the street for over two hours because bystanders were afraid to approach him.

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