As if the Masons don't have enough trouble with a shrinking and elderly membership, now they're killing new would be members.

In Patchogue, New York, a man was shot and killed during a Masonic ceremony by a brother Mason who fired a real pistol at the would be initiate.

William James, 47, was shot while participating in an induction Monday night at the Southside Masonic Lodge, Suffolk County police said.

James did not give the customary Masonic sign of distress. (Just kidding)

Albert Eid, 76, was arrested and charged with manslaughter. The district attorney's office said the .32-caliber pistol used in the shooting was licensed to Eid.

Police Detective Lt. Jack Fitzpatrick said the ceremony included a loud noise to frighten the new member. The Masons sat James in a chair and placed cans on a platform around his head. Eid, standing about 20 feet away, was supposed to fire a blank gun, and a man holding a stick was supposed to knock the cans over to make James think they had been hit by bullets.