Rap video stuntman shot dead by prop gun with 'no bullets'

 Johann Ofner was shot dead while shooting a gangster bar scene (Photo: Johann Ofner/ Facebook)

A stuntman performing in a rap video was killed after being shot by a prop gun with "no bullets", the musicians have said.

Johann Ofner, 28, died after being blasted in the chest by a weapon, believed to be a shotgun, loaded with blanks.

He was working on a video for Australia hop hop group Bliss n Eso when the accident happened in Brisbane on Monday.

The case appears to share chilling similarities with the infamous death of actor Brandon Lee.

The son of late martial arts legend Bruce Lee died after a Magnum handgun loaded with blanks was fired at him on the set of cult classic The Crow in 1993.

Brandon's death aged just 28 sparked a number of conspiracy theories due to a number of eerie parallels which emerged between the actor and his character, and the similarly out-of-the-blue death of his father.

"Detectives have today continued to examine the crime scene and will also continue to review closed-circuit television footage, footage taken during the production and take further witness statements," the force said.

"A ballistics test is also being conducted as is as a post-mortem examination, however these results may take some time to be returned to police.

"Police are working with Workplace Health and Safety as well as the Coroner’s office and a report will be prepared in due course."

Ofner was given treatment but died at the scene.

A new statement from Bliss N Eso emphasised that although the investigation is ongoing, Ofner was not killed by "live ammunition".

It read: "Johann was tragically fatally injured when a prop gun was discharged as part of filming a scene in Bliss n Eso’s video clip.

"The gun was loaded with blanks, not live ammunition."

"The exact cause of Johann’s fatal injury is still to be confirmed, but as the gun was loaded with blanks, not live ammunition, the cause was not a bullet or a live round.

"All of the appropriate permits were in place for the filming.

"A licensed armourer was on location at the time to monitor the four firearms on site (one imitation, two hand guns and one shot gun)

"Only professional stunt people were used in the scene that involved prop guns."

It has emerged Ofner posted footage of him with gun and knife props on set only hours before the tragedy.

"Our Asian gangster props today!" the father-of-one wrote, showing viewers the Brooklyn Standard bar in Brisbane.

In another scene, Ofner captioned a video clip "Gun scene for Bliss N Eso video".

It features a group of people sitting round a table where Ofner appears to put a gun on the table next to piles of gambling chips and rolls of $50 and $100 Australian notes.

The next section featured a fake knife being "stabbed" into the stomach of another actor - with the blade collapsing to show it's fake.

"Faulty props," Ofner wrote over the footage of the knife and then the guns scattered over the table.

Queensland Police initially said the shooting was "accidental" and there was "no current risk to the public".

An armourer supplied the shoot with plastic replicas and a real shotgun with blanks, Brisbane's Courier-Mail reported.

The paper added that the prop gun that was fired was a double-barrel shotgun.

The guns are said to have been supplied with a warning not to point them directly at people - but Ofner was shot from 1.5m away, the paper said.

Ofner was set to star in a new television, Australia's Ninja Warrior, hosted by former England cricket captain Andrew Flintoff.

In a statement on Facebook, the venue, Brooklyn Standard, said: "After an incident at Brooklyn Standard today, our doors will remain closed tonight as a police investigation is undertaken to identify what happened within the bar.

"The incident occurred during filming at the venue, for which Brooklyn Standard had been wholly rented out, outside of opening hours.

"We would like everyone to know that none of our staff were involved in the incident and everyone is safe, and we are doing everything we can to help the police investigation at this time."