NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (WJZ) — Baltimore illusionist Spencer Horsman is rushed to the hospital while trying to escape the same water torture stunt that nearly killed him in June. 
 
 Marcus Washington and WJZ’s cameraman were just feet away when paramedics pulled his limp body from the water tank before a live audience in New Jersey. 
 
 While some now speculate it was a publicity stunt to sell tickets to this weekend’s show, Marcus Washington explains emergency responders in New Brunsick as a real life rescue. 
 
 For two and a half minutes, Spencer Horsman was submerged underwater, unlocking a series of 16 different locks. It wasn’t until that very last lock that things turned from entertaining to terrifying. 
 
 It is the stunt that has put Baltimore native Spencer Horsman in the hospital before. 
 
 “It is a risky stunt. As Spencer was addressing the crowd, he was saying this is real.” 
 
 He was submerged, again, in a box filled with water as he attempted to unlock nearly two dozen padlocks. 
 
 WATCH: Baltimore Escape Artist Spencer Horsman Nearly Drowns When Stunt Goes Wrong 
 
 In front of the State Theatre in New Brunswick, New Jersey, a crowd watched as Spencer was locked in what is called the water torture cell. 
 
 After unlocking 15 locks, the 16th and final lock was unlocked–but Spencer could not remove it. 
 
 “It looked like he was just not able to get a good grab on that lock, which I’m guessing is him starting to lose consciousness.” 
 
 The crew rushed in, pulling his limp body from the box. 
 
 Paramedics quickly responded to the now-conscious Horsman. Minutes later, Spencer threw a peace sign, saying he was OK as he’s rushed to the ambulance. 
 
 The show will go on as expected from Friday until Sunday. There’s no word if Spencer will be a part of the show. ||||| Subscribe to New Jersey 101.5 FM on 
 
 An escape artist was hospitalized Tuesday after a stunt he was doing as part of a preview for an upcoming Criss Angel show at the State Theatre went awry. 
 
 The stunt was performed by Spencer Horsman, a Las Vegas resident who bills himself as a “comedy magician and escape artist.” As part of the act — which was a preview for Criss Angel’s “Supernaturalists” show — Horsman was chained and submerged inside a 30-by-30-inch Plexiglas tank filled with 100 gallons of water. The thank, which was hoisted several feet in the air by a crane, was locked with metal bars. 
 
 Spencer Horsman prepares for ‘Submerged’ a the State Theatre in New Brunswick. (Jeff Auger, State Theatre) 
 
 New Jersey 101.5 promotions director Ray Handel, who was at the event with a team from the station, described what the early afternoon audience saw during the show. 
 
 “First he was chained around his neck and arms, with handcuffs around his arms and legs,” Handel said, adding that the only objects Horsman was able to take into the box with him were a rubber band and a bent piece of wire — presumably to unlock the bars and cuffs. 
 
 “They chained him up and put him into the box that was already filled with water. He got into a breathing rhythm and then was completely submerged and the box was closed with a metal grate on top and steel bars that were padlocked on top of the box,” Handel said. “So his task was to unchain himself, reach through the grate and undo the padlocks.” 
 
 Dont miss my public performance of “Submerged” (the escape that almost cost me my life a couple… https://t.co/ujXiVdM8eT — Spencer Horsman (@SpencerHorsman) September 14, 2015 
 
 Handel said that at about a two-and-a-half-minute mark, the announcer told the crowd that it was usually at about that point when a person submerged could begin having difficulty. 
 
 By that point, Horsman had already managed to escape the chains and cuffs and was working to unlock the padlocks on the grate on top of the box. 
 
 “They gave signal to lower the crane and undo the last bar and he kinda collapsed coming out of the box. At that point the paramedics came over,” Handel said. 
 
 He said Horsman opened his eyes at one point as EMS workers provided medical assistance. He was then transported by ambulance to a local hospital. 
 
 “New Brunswick EMTs who were on site for this dangerous stunt came to Spencer’s aid and transported the performer to Robert Wood Johnson Hospital for evaluation. Spencer was held for evaluation and tests, and should be released from the hospital later this evening. Horsman is expected to make a full recovery,” State Theatre’s Director of Communications Kelly Blithe said in a press release Tuesday afternoon. 
 
 Spencer Horsman prepares for ‘Submerged’ at the State Theatre in New Jersey. (Jeff Auger, State Theatre) 
 
 It wasn’t the first time the stunt went wrong. According to several media reports at the time, Angel and Horsman were rehearsing for opening night of the illusionist’s show at Foxwoods Resort Casino when Horsman became trapped. Angel came to his aid. 
 
 Following the incident, Angel offered an apology to those who showed up to watch the show, while thanking the State Theatre. 
 
 “Thank you to the State Theatre and thousands of people that showed up for this demonstration. I am sorry that the outcome was not as planned, and we continue to await Spencer’s evaluation. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers,” says Criss. 
 
 The Supernaturalists™ performances this weekend, September 18-20, will go on as scheduled and Spencer will perform. Whether “Submerged” will be a part of the show will be at Horsman’s discretion. 
 
 “We are thrilled that Criss Angel was able to come to New Brunswick to help kick off the tour of The Supernaturalists™ at the State Theatre,” said Brian O’Boyle, State Theatre Vice President of Programming & Marketing. “We look forward to four exciting shows this weekend with Spencer Horsman and the rest of The Supernaturalists™.” 
 
 Toniann Antonelli is the digital managing editor at NJ 101.5. Reach her at toniann.antonelli@townsquaremedia.com, or on Twitter @ToniRadio1015.
– With just a rubber band and a piece of bent wire, Spencer Horsman entered a 30-by-30-inch Plexiglas tank filled with 100 gallons of water on Tuesday in handcuffs and chains, hoping to pull off a feat that would excite crowds for an upcoming show with illusionist Criss Angel, New Jersey 101.5 reports. But things went terribly wrong for Horsman, a former America's Got Talent contestant, in front of New Brunswick's State Theatre when he nearly drowned during the stunt and had to be yanked out of the tank by a rescue crew, CBS Baltimore reports. As Horsman's tank hovered above the crowd, he tried to unlock 16 locks and free himself from what was called the "water torture cell," but he started having trouble two and a half minutes in—right after he had unlocked the final lock. "It looked like he was just not able to get a good grab on that lock, which I'm guessing is him starting to lose consciousness," a WJZ reporter on the scene noted. Horsman came to as responders tended to him, and he flashed a peace sign to the crowd as he was rushed to an ambulance, per CBS Baltimore. He's apparently doing OK, according to a tweet sent out by Angel that shows what looks to be the two of them hanging out in Horsman's hospital room with the caption ".@SpencerHorsman recovering well." It's not the first time Horsman has gotten in over his head with this Houdini-inspired trick: He lost consciousness in June while performing the feat in Connecticut and had to be freed by Angel and some helpers, NBC New York notes. Angel's show, with Horsman included, is still set to go on this weekend, though no one's sure yet if this stunt will be included, New Jersey 101.5 reports. (This buried-alive stunt was another close call.)