Spirit
06-10-2003, 07:44 AM
LONDON INSERT INTO post VALUES (Reuters) - A magician apparently "played" a deadly game of Russian roulette with a loaded pistol on a television show despite criticism the stunt could lead to copycats.
The show by self-styled "psychological illusionist" Derren Brown was broadcast on Channel Four television, which said there would be a slight tape delay so transmission could be quickly ended if he blew his head off.
Brown carried out his stunt in an unnamed foreign country on Sunday, since handguns are illegal in this country.
A volunteer, picked by Brown from 12,000 hopefuls, put a bullet in one of the gun's six chambers. Brown then said he was reading the volunteer's mind to determine where the bullet was before putting the gun to his head.
Twice Brown put the revolver to his head and squeezed the trigger. On the third shot the illusionist pointed the gun away and fired. The chamber was empty.
After several minutes of silent contemplation Brown fired at his head and then quickly fired the live round into a wall of sandbags.
Police had earlier labelled the stunt "deplorable" and called for the show to be stopped, saying there were fears someone might copy it.
Britain has been shocked by a spate of gun attacks in the past week, including the fatal shooting of a jeweller in a family-run shop, the daylight machine-gunning of a man on a street and the shooting of three other men the following day.
Channel Four and Brown denied the Russian roulette stunt was irresponsible. The illusionist said it was designed to show the dangers of guns.
The show by self-styled "psychological illusionist" Derren Brown was broadcast on Channel Four television, which said there would be a slight tape delay so transmission could be quickly ended if he blew his head off.
Brown carried out his stunt in an unnamed foreign country on Sunday, since handguns are illegal in this country.
A volunteer, picked by Brown from 12,000 hopefuls, put a bullet in one of the gun's six chambers. Brown then said he was reading the volunteer's mind to determine where the bullet was before putting the gun to his head.
Twice Brown put the revolver to his head and squeezed the trigger. On the third shot the illusionist pointed the gun away and fired. The chamber was empty.
After several minutes of silent contemplation Brown fired at his head and then quickly fired the live round into a wall of sandbags.
Police had earlier labelled the stunt "deplorable" and called for the show to be stopped, saying there were fears someone might copy it.
Britain has been shocked by a spate of gun attacks in the past week, including the fatal shooting of a jeweller in a family-run shop, the daylight machine-gunning of a man on a street and the shooting of three other men the following day.
Channel Four and Brown denied the Russian roulette stunt was irresponsible. The illusionist said it was designed to show the dangers of guns.