Italian actor Raphael Schumacher is in a coma after an apparent prop malfunction during a weekend performance that resulted in his accidental hanging.
The incident happened during a performance of an experimental play called Mirages at Pisa's Teatro Lux. While police are still investigating exactly what happened, it's believed several prop malfunctions occurred during a scene in which Schumacher's character was being lynched.
Among the safety precautions
According to Italian newspaper Il Giorno, authorities aren't ruling out suicide as a possibility. But Schumaker's mother refuted the claim, saying, "My son recently lost his father and had ended a relationship but had found his serenity again. He didn't leave a suicide note and had no reason to kill himself."
According to the BBC, an audience member noticed Schumacher, who was wearing a hood over his head for the scene, began trembling and rushed to his assistance.
Schumacher has not yet regained consciousness, according to the BBC, and remains hospitalized.