Brandon Lee death: who was Bruce Lee’s son, how did he die on set of The Crow, and what did Shannon Lee say?

In an accident on the set of Western film Rust, Alec Baldwin fatally shot Halyna Hutchins after a prop gun misfired.

As the news of the incident spread, many are remembering Brandon Lee, who was also killed with a prop gun in 1993.

This is what you need to know.

Who was Brandon Lee?

Brandon Lee, born 1 February 1965, was the son of famous martial artist and actor Bruce Lee.

Starting from a young age, Lee learned martial arts from his father and due to his dad’s career, his family lived between Hong Kong and the United States.

After his father passed suddenly in 1973, Lee’s family moved to LA where he trained in martial arts with the likes of Dan Inosanto, Richard Bustillo and Jeff Imada.

At the age of 18, Brandon left LA to attend Emerson College in Boston, but he soon returned to Los Angeles to pursue his dream of becoming an actor.

Lee would go on to star in film and TV projects like Kung Fu The Movie, Legacy of Rage, Laser Mission, Showdown in Little Tokyo and Rapid Fire.

How did he die?

In 1993, Lee was involved in filming a movie called The Crow. In one scene, Lee was scripted to enter a room, where another actor was supposed to shoot him from a distance of 15 to 20 feet.

Hollowed out cartridges were used to film close up shots of a gun being loaded in a film, however these cartridges were meant to be removed and replaced with blanks for when the gun is meant to be fired.

Unfortunately, the gun that was used to shoot Lee contained a .44 bullet, which entered his abdomen and got lodged in his spine.

The police investigation concluded that part of one of the cartridges’ bullets broke away from the cartridge and became lodged in the gun, which was then fired alongside the blank.

He was rushed to hospital, but attempts to save his life were unsuccessful and after six hours of surgery, Lee was pronounced dead on 31 March.

After the almost month-long investigation came to an end, Jerry Spivey, North Carolina District Attorney, announced on 27 April 1993 that Lee’s death during the filming of The Crow was due to negligence on the part of the film’s crew, and not foul play.

What happened with Alec Baldwin on the set of Rust?

Hollywood star Alec Balwin fatally shot Halyna Hutchins, the film’s director of photography, after a prop gun misfired on the set of Rust.

The director of the film, Joel Souza, was also injured in the incident and is said to be receiving emergency care.

Balwin’s spokesperson told AP news agency that the incident involved the misfiring of a prop gun with blanks. Local police said that the weapon had gone off during filming.

After receiving an emergency call to set, police were dispatched to Bonanza Creek Ranch just before 2pm local time.

Hutchins was taken to hospital but died of her injuries.

Police are still investigating at the film set, but no charges have been filed.

A Santa Fe sheriff spokesperson said that Baldwin had spoken with detectives.

They said: “He came in voluntarily and he left the building after he finished interviews.”

What has his family said about the Alec Baldwin incident?

Lee’s sister, Shannon, reacted to the news on the official Brandon Bruce Lee Twitter account, which she tweets on behalf of her brother.

She wrote: “Our hearts go out to the family of Halyna Hutchins and to Joel Souza and all involved in the incident on “Rust”.

“No one should ever be killed by a gun on a film set. Period.”

Many online expressed their condolences for the 28-year-old actor, and their frustrations that an incident of this nature has happened again.

One person tweeted: “Brandon Lee’s death at only 28 was so tragic and it’s horrifying that Hollywood didn’t learn from it.”

Another wrote: “Hollywood didn’t learn after the Brandon Lee accident. Truly tragic. My heart goes out to Halyna’s family.”

“The fact that any firearm that has the potential to KILL SOMEONE is ever brought onto a movie set absolutely baffles me. We should’ve done better after Brandon Lee,” wrote another.

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