On March 31, 1993, a 28-year-old actor walked onto a North Carolina movie set to film a simple scene. He was supposed to walk through a doorway, face a costar holding a prop gun, and simulate being struck by a bullet. Instead, unseen physical errors transformed a routine special effects sequence into a fatal event.
The events of that day halted the production of a major Hollywood film and resulted in an extensive police investigation into an unbelievable accident.
A Fateful Scene Gone Wrong in The Crow
Brandon Lee, the son of martial artist Bruce Lee, was starring as Eric Draven in the action film The Crow. The production had reached a critical scene where Lee’s character was to be shot by a gang member, played by actor Michael Massee.
Director Alex Proyas instructed Lee to enter a room carrying a grocery bag. Massee was positioned exactly 15 feet (4.57 meters) away. Lee was supposed to flip a switch on the bag to detonate small fireworks called squibs, simulating bullet wounds, while Massee fired blanks from a revolver.
The Hidden Dummy Bullet
The props team had previously used the revolver for close-up shots. During those earlier setups, they used dummy cartridges to make the weapon look loaded. Unbeknownst to the crew on the day of the fatal scene, the lead tip of one of those dummy bullets had become dislodged and remained stuck inside the barrel of the gun.
When the crew loaded the gun with a blank cartridge for the new scene, they did not inspect the barrel. The explosive force of the blank propelled the lodged metal tip out of the gun with the exact same velocity as a live round.
Six Hours of Emergency Surgery
Massee fired the prop gun, and the projectile struck Lee directly in the abdomen. The impact created an entry wound roughly the size of a silver dollar, measuring about 1.5 inches (38 millimeters) in diameter. The bullet severed two major arteries and traveled in a straight path before lodging near his spine.
Lee collapsed on the set. An ambulance rushed him to New Hanover Regional Medical Center in Wilmington, North Carolina. Dr. Warren W. McMurry and a surgical team operated on Lee for six hours. The trauma was too severe, and Brandon Lee died at 1:04 PM.
The Official Police Investigation
Initially, police suspected the explosive squibs in the grocery bag had malfunctioned. However, X-rays taken at the hospital revealed the metal object resting against Lee’s spine. Dr. McMurry noted the absolute absence of explosion burns around the wound.
Following this evidence, the Wilmington Police Department officially ruled the event an accidental shooting. The specific footage of the incident was destroyed. Lee’s fiancee, Eliza Hutton, rushed to his side at the hospital. They were scheduled to marry in Mexico just two weeks after the shooting.