A man accused of shooting a haunted house performer who scared a group inside a Myrtle Beach, South Carolina wax museum Saturday claimed he thought the gun was just a prop, police said Wednesday.
The shooting happened at the Hollywood Wax Museum, which, among other attractions, offers a zombie experience called Outbreak: Dread the Undead, KTLA sister station WBTW reported.
The victim, who was working at the zombie experience when he was shot in the shoulder has survived, the Associated Press reports.
Myrtle Beach police have charged the suspected shooter, 39-year-old Keal Latrell Brown, with contributing to the delinquency of a minor for allegedly passing the gun to a minor after the incident. Police have not been able to determine the owner of the gun or who had it before the shooting.
According to warrants, Brown admitted in a post-Miranda statement to allowing a teenaged relative to take the gun from him.
In a Facebook post on Wednesday, police said investigators talked to Brown, the victim, witnesses, and also watched surveillance video of the incident, which happened just after 8 p.m Saturday at the museum.
Police said the shooting happened after Brown and several other people entered the museum and several people in the group were frightened by the victim, who was working as a performer in the haunted house. One person fell down, and during the scramble, a gun slid back and hit Brown in the foot.
Police said Brown told investigators he picked up the gun and fired twice, thinking that the gun was a prop and part of the experience.
Brown was arrested in the Charleston area after being identified as a suspect hours after the shooting, according to police.
He has been given a $25,000 cash or surety bond. Police said that additional charges are “likely.”
The injured performer attended Brown’s bond hearing and spoke about the shooting, according to the Associated Press, recounting how the gunman looked at him before firing. He added that he now has trouble working and hasn’t been able to sleep since it happened.
Nexstar’s WBTW reached out to the wax museum for a response to the shooting and to find out whether guns are permitted inside the attraction, and has not heard back.