Production for The Walking Dead Shuts Down After Stuntman’s Death

Awful news from The Walking Dead’s season eight set, as it’s been confirmed that a stuntman died in a recent accident, per THR. John Bernecker suffered a serious injury on Wednesday when he fell some 20 feet onto a concrete floor, injuring his head. He was immediately rushed to Atlanta Medical Center, but was confirmed brain-dead at the hospital not long after his arrival.

AMC has temporarily shut down production and released a statement about the incident:

We are saddened to report that John Bernecker, a talented stuntman for The Walking Dead and numerous other television shows and films, suffered serious injuries from a tragic accident on set. He was immediately transported to an Atlanta hospital and we have temporarily shut down production. We are keeping John and his family in our thoughts and prayers.

Bernecker’s resume lists high falls as one of his stunt specialties, as THR points out. His IMDb page lists 105 credits dating back to 2009, with recent work on Get Out, The Fate of the Furious, Logan and the forthcoming Black Panther film.

It’s unclear how this tragedy will affect the production or promotion schedule for The Walking Dead’s forthcoming season.