The Human Cannonball Run
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Folks who braved an Alaska rain storm to have a little fun at the circus got a little more than they bargained for today. The Bailey Brothers Circus is in town through this weekend, and among their main attractions is a bit of classic circus fair: a man being shot out of a cannon. Only today that man got shot, but he didn't come out of the cannon.

It was a bad day for Commander Muniez the human cannon-ball. He's been shot from his cannon on all seven continents, but never before in Alaska. And before today's five o'clock show, he had a decision to make: should he brave the wet weather and go ahead with his stunt, or should he call a rain-out.

At first he decided to cancel, but in the end he went ahead with the show and that's when things went wrong.

The idea was for Commander Muniez to be blown out of the cannon... through the air... eventually landing in a safety net.

A crowd estimated at 400 people had gathered to see just that.

According to circus managers, Commander Muniez was using one of only three human cannons world-wide. Usually, Commander Muniez lays on a sled for his explosive journey. But today the gunpowder went off early, and the sled wasn't set.

"The cannon discharged," explained Philip Dolci, circus manager. "He wasn't ready to discharge at the time. The people who were here saw smoke and explosion. Thank God there was a paramedic in the crowd... he came up and gave aid and a lot of bystanders. The Anchorage Fire Department came and extracted him from the barrel of the cannon"

Commander Muniez was then taken to providence hospital. Paramedics told the circus manager that he suffered neck and shoulder injuries as a result of the accident. Muniez also complained of hearing problems.

No word at this hour whether it was human error or the wet weather that cause the cannon to fire prematurely.