Sept. 1, 1963 - A trick shot artist accidentally killed his 14-year-old daughter today in Calexico, Calif., when he erred on a shot intended to break a balloon on the side of her head. The performer, Milo Ploof, rushed to his daughter’s side after she was struck by a bullet high on the forehead. “You’re going to be all right, baby,” he said, taking her in his arms. She never regained consciousness. The girl, Marilyn, who had worked with her father in the act for years, had stood placidly moments before as he split a piece of chalk she held between her teeth. The accident occurred before 300 spectators at the Dove Hunters’ Fiesta in Calexico, about 200 miles southeast of Los Angeles. Sheriff’s officers said they did not intend to charge Mr. Ploof, 45, pending further investigation. Marilyn, 5-foot-7, was dressed in jeans and a cowboy shirt for her part in the fiesta that opens the dove hunting season. After a series of tricks, her father placed a band on her head with two balloons, about 10 inches in diameter, on either side of her head. Mr. Ploof stepped back, took aim with two .38-caliber revolvers, and fired. The two pistols were supposed to burst the balloons simultaneously, but the revolver in Ploof’s right hand sent a bullet into his daughter’s head.
