A circus performer was injured when an arrow struck him during a performance on Friday evening in Wallkill, New York.
The incident happened when 42-year-old Ana Daza Tavera was performing a stunt with 38-year-old Edwin Cuervo Rangel that involved a bow and arrow at the Orange County Fair, the New York Post reported Sunday.
According to New York State Police, Daza Tavera shot an arrow at a foam target Cuervo Rangel was holding, but it missed the mark and hit him instead.
Video footage showed state troopers at the scene where the red, white, and blue circus tent was still lit up:
Both of the performers are from Waukesha, Wisconsin, WGRZ reported. The man was airlifted to a hospital and reports said he was in stable condition and expected to recover.
The Friday incident remains under investigation.
According to the fair’s website, it has been in existence for the past 186 years:
For more than 100 years, the Orange County Fair has been creating unforgettable family memories for visitors from across the Hudson Valley and beyond. In 2026, we’re bringing you our biggest and most exciting fair yet!
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Making their Orange County Fair debut in 2026 are two must-see attractions: the all-new Big Top Circus featuring Circus Murcia, showcasing breathtaking acrobatics, daring aerial performances, and world-class circus artistry, and the legendary Wild Wheels Wall of Death Thrill Show, where fearless riders race vintage motorcycles and perform gravity-defying stunts on a vertical wooden wall.
“Well, last night, unfortunately, when she shot the crossbow, it caught him in his neck,” said Circus Murcia Ringmaster Benjamin Jackson. “The good news is, she caught him right at the very corner of the neck. There was no blood, nothing.”
Historically speaking, the crossbow was the leading missile weapon people used during the Middle Ages, according to Britannica.
“Despite the introduction of the English (or Welsh) longbow, with its quicker rate of fire, the crossbow continued its reign as the supreme hand missile weapon until, and even for a long time after, the introduction of firearms,” the site read.
