Peter Greene Cause of Death Determined as Accidental Gunshot, Medical Examiner Says

Peter Greene's death has been ruled an accident by the New York City medical examiner, which found the actor died from a gunshot wound to the left armpit that damaged the brachial artery. The determination comes two months after Greene was found dead in his Lower East Side apartment.

Peter Greene: Medical examiner details and timeline

The medical examiner's office listed the cause of death as a gunshot wound of the left axilla with injury of the brachial artery and classified the death as accidental. That finding was released two months after Greene was found dead on Dec. 12 in his apartment on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. The medical examiner's office did not provide other details about the circumstances surrounding the shooting.

Career notes and unfinished projects

Greene was best known for playing memorable villain roles, including the sadistic security guard Zed in Pulp Fiction and the antagonist Dorian in The Mask. He also had notable parts in films such as Clean, Shaven, The Usual Suspects and Training Day. His manager, Gregg Edwards, said Greene was working on two projects at the time of his death, including a documentary about the federal government's withdrawal of funding from the U. S. Agency for International Development.

The new medical examiner determination closes the official inquiry into cause of death by identifying the physical injury that led to Greene's passing while leaving questions about the circumstances unanswered in the absence of further detail from the examiner's office.