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updated 6/24/2011 9:04:47 PM ET
PIERRE, S.D.— One of the participants in a
mock Old West gun battle in South Dakota
fired live ammunition instead of using blanks,
wounding three tourists, authorities
announced Friday.
More than 100 people attended the show a
week ago staged by the Dakota Wild Bunch re-
enactors, who perform several times a week in
Hill City, a tourist town in the Black Hills.
Pennington County Sheriff Kevin Thom said
information gathered by investigators will be
given to state and federal prosecutors next
week to determine whether criminal charges
are filed.
"What it boils down to is was it accidental or
was it intentional. It would be premature to
speculate on that at this point," Thom said. "I
can say there was not a specific target in the
crowd, if you will."
A 49-year-old member of the re-enactor
group fired four live rounds during the June
17 show, Thom said. No phone listing could be
found for the man.
The bullets shattered a leg bone of Carrol
Knutson, 65, of Birchwood, Minn.; hit the
forearm and elbow of John Ellis, 48, an
optometrist from South Connellsville, Penn.;
and caused minor injuries to Jose Pruneda,
53, of Alliance, Neb.
There was no immediate comment from re-
enactors. On its Facebook page, the group has
said their members are not allowed to bring
live rounds to performances.
Knutson said she was glad to get confirmation
from authorities that her leg wound was
caused by a lead bullet. The hospital already
had determined that a bullet had hit her, and
lead residue was found in the wound, she said.
Knutson said she is frustrated because the
wound ended a family vacation early and will
prevent her from doing many things this
summer.
"It's a painful wound, so it's going to take a
while to get back on my feet," she said. But she
said she was relieved to know that the
shooting wasn't done by some anonymous
person in the audience.
"I just wanted to know it was never going to
happen again to anybody," she said.
Ellis also has said doctors told him the injury
to his arm and elbow was consistent with a
regular gunshot wound.
Officials from Hill City and the area Chamber
of Commerce were not immediately available
for comment late Friday. They have said the
simulated gun battles have been suspended at
least until the sheriff's department
investigation ends.
The mock shootouts between lawmen and
outlaws have been held in Hill City for at least
a couple of decades, and the Dakota Wild
Bunch has been doing the show for about four
years, officials have said.
Thom said investigators from the sheriff's
office, the Rapid City Police Department and
the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,
Firearms and Explosives used information
gathered in the investigation to recreate the
shooting scene this week. They located three
lead bullets in different locations and traced
them to a .45-caliber handgun used in the
mock shootout, he said.
Four spent casings and two unfired cartridges
with lead bullets were located near the scene
Friday afternoon, the sheriff said. The gun, the
casings and the bullets will be sent the state
crime lab in Pierre for testing, he said.
Originally posted by AP
updated 6/24/2011 9:04:47 PM ET
PIERRE, S.D.— One of the participants in a
mock Old West gun battle in South Dakota
fired live ammunition instead of using blanks,
wounding three tourists, authorities
announced Friday.
More than 100 people attended the show a
week ago staged by the Dakota Wild Bunch re-
enactors, who perform several times a week in
Hill City, a tourist town in the Black Hills.
Pennington County Sheriff Kevin Thom said
information gathered by investigators will be
given to state and federal prosecutors next
week to determine whether criminal charges
are filed.
"What it boils down to is was it accidental or
was it intentional. It would be premature to
speculate on that at this point," Thom said. "I
can say there was not a specific target in the
crowd, if you will."
A 49-year-old member of the re-enactor
group fired four live rounds during the June
17 show, Thom said. No phone listing could be
found for the man.
The bullets shattered a leg bone of Carrol
Knutson, 65, of Birchwood, Minn.; hit the
forearm and elbow of John Ellis, 48, an
optometrist from South Connellsville, Penn.;
and caused minor injuries to Jose Pruneda,
53, of Alliance, Neb.
There was no immediate comment from re-
enactors. On its Facebook page, the group has
said their members are not allowed to bring
live rounds to performances.
Knutson said she was glad to get confirmation
from authorities that her leg wound was
caused by a lead bullet. The hospital already
had determined that a bullet had hit her, and
lead residue was found in the wound, she said.
Knutson said she is frustrated because the
wound ended a family vacation early and will
prevent her from doing many things this
summer.
"It's a painful wound, so it's going to take a
while to get back on my feet," she said. But she
said she was relieved to know that the
shooting wasn't done by some anonymous
person in the audience.
"I just wanted to know it was never going to
happen again to anybody," she said.
Ellis also has said doctors told him the injury
to his arm and elbow was consistent with a
regular gunshot wound.
Officials from Hill City and the area Chamber
of Commerce were not immediately available
for comment late Friday. They have said the
simulated gun battles have been suspended at
least until the sheriff's department
investigation ends.
The mock shootouts between lawmen and
outlaws have been held in Hill City for at least
a couple of decades, and the Dakota Wild
Bunch has been doing the show for about four
years, officials have said.
Thom said investigators from the sheriff's
office, the Rapid City Police Department and
the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,
Firearms and Explosives used information
gathered in the investigation to recreate the
shooting scene this week. They located three
lead bullets in different locations and traced
them to a .45-caliber handgun used in the
mock shootout, he said.
Four spent casings and two unfired cartridges
with lead bullets were located near the scene
Friday afternoon, the sheriff said. The gun, the
casings and the bullets will be sent the state
crime lab in Pierre for testing, he said.
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