Magician David Blaine 'shot in the mouth' as trick goes horribly wrong

He nearly died while trying to catch the rifle bullet in his mouth.

By Curated by Yousuf Saifuddin Kapadia

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Published: Sun 8 Jan 2017, 11:18 AM

Last updated: Mon 12 Jun 2023, 10:51 AM

World renowned magician and illusionist, David Blaine, nearly died while attempting one of his insane tricks.

According to reports, the 43-year-old magician was attempting to fire a rifle and catch the bullet in his mouth at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, when the stunt went horribly wrong.


The stunt - airing on his E4 show Beyong Magic show - involved him holding a metal cup in his mouth, with his teeth protected by a gumshield, and pulling a cord to fire off the rifle set up in front of him.

The .22-caliber bullet fired into the cup as planned but his gumshield shattered on impact and the cup slammed into the back of his throat, Daily Mail reported.


Commenting on the stunt, Blaine said:

'Time just started to move really slow. When the bullet struck the cup, there was a high-pitched ringing in my ears and I felt an impact on the back of my throat. I was sure the bullet went right through my head and that I was dead. Suddenly I became aware of the pain and it brought me back. At that moment I realised that the mouth guard had shattered again, and I was alive.'

It is no surprise that Blaine's friends have now refused to help him perform the stunt, which he has performed three times since 2010, but still wants it as part of his upcoming world tour.

'I committed to doing it live at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas for 20,000 people. The part that I didn't really spend enough attention on was building a better mouth guard,' Blaine added.

Viewers of the show expressed their awe on Twitter:

He is alive - of course!

The show also shows him spitting out frogs to a live audience which included footballer David Beckham and Drake among other celebrities.

Earlier in 2016 - as part of his promotional tour - Blaine performed unbelievable tricks on US talks shows, leaving the celebrity hosts and viewers dumbfounded.

This is him on the Jimmy Fallon show:


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