Alec Baldwin's 'prop firearm' kills one, injures another

Sheriff's office: Alec Baldwin discharged prop gun that killed crew member, wounded director

Baldwin is one of the film's star actors and producers. He went to the sheriff's office willingly and provided a statement to investigators, sheriff's office spokesman Juan Ríos said.

www.santafenewmexican.com

archive.md/jNQZQ

Actor Alec Baldwin discharged a "prop firearm" that killed a cinematographer and injured a the director of the movie Rust, being filmed on a set south of Santa Fe, a county sheriff's office spokesman said late Thursday.

Halyna Hutchins, 42 and the director of photography for the movie, died at University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque. The film's director, Joel Souza, was hospitalized in Santa Fe, Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office spokesman Juan Ríos said.

A source closed to the investigation said Baldwin, 63, was questioned by investigators late Thursday and was seen by a New Mexican reporter and photographer in tears.

Investigators are still trying to determine if the incident was an accident, Ríos said. No charges have been filed, and the investigation remains open, Ríos wrote in a news release.

The prop was fired at Bonanza Creek Ranch, where filming was underway, the sheriff's office said in an early evening news release. Baldwin stars in the production.

Hutchins died from her injuries after she was flown to University of New Mexico Hospital, according to the sheriff's office. Souza was taken to Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center, where he is receiving emergency care, the sheriff's office said. Attempts to get comment from Baldwin were unsuccessful.

“We received the devastating news this evening, that one of our members, Halyna Hutchins, the Director of Photography on a production called ‘Rust’ in New Mexico died from injuries sustained on the set,” John Lindley, the president of the International Cinematographers Guild Local 600, and Rebecca Rhine, the executive director, said in a statement, as reported by Variety. “The details are unclear at this moment, but we are working to learn more, and we support a full investigation into this tragic event. This is a terrible loss, and we mourn the passing of a member of our Guild’s family.”

Deputies were investigating how the accident occurred and "what type of projectile was discharged," the sheriff's office said in an earlier news release.

Rust Movie Productions did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Filming for Rust was set to continue into early November, according to a news release from the New Mexico Film Office. It's described as the story of a 13-year-old boy left to fend for himself and his younger brother following the death of their parents in 1880s Kansas, with New Mexico doubling for Kansas.

Guns firing blanks have been blamed for deaths in past movie productions. Online Hollywood news site Deadline reported, "Actor Jon-Erik Hexum was killed Oct. 18, 1984, on the set of the TV series Cover Up when he accidentally shot himself in the head with a gun loaded with blanks. And in 1993, Brandon Lee, the son of martial arts legend Bruce Lee, died after he was shot in the head by a gun firing blanks on the set of The Crow. Both incidents were determined to have been accidents."

This is a developing story and will be updated.

 

[X Pac Heat]

If anyone says you shouldn't be upset at Baldwin over this, ask them if they'd have the same opinion if it was Trump instead of Baldwin and watch their heads explode.

 

[Mr. Bung]

The fact that Baldwin is anti-gun makes it more ironic than anything I suppose. I find it strange that most of Hollywood hates gun ownership when most of them make their living glorifying guns and violence.

Bojack Horseman did an entire episode on the hypocrisy of Hollywood being anti-gun while glorifying gun violence in its movies.

 

[Smug Cat]

If anyone says you shouldn't be upset at Baldwin over this, ask them if they'd have the same opinion if it was Trump instead of Baldwin and watch their heads explode.

It would be MUCH funnier if it were Trump. Holy shit can you imagine the drama? Can you imagine the fucking statements he'd put out? Please god let something like this happen with Trump.

 

[Super-Chevy454]

Have you never seen Diagnosis Murder? The dude always kills or get killed for insurance money. This Camera lady was having an affair with baldwin, she was going to tell his wife. He takes out a massive insurance policy on the film to go tits up, kills everyone, film goes tits up, he shorts the stock and makes bank.

Am i doing reddit crime solving right?

That's a scheme who could fit Columbo, McCloud, Perry Mason and Matlock as well, lol.

 

[X Pac Heat]

It would be MUCH funnier if it were Trump. Holy shit can you imagine the drama? Can you imagine the fucking statements he'd put out? Please god let something like this happen with Trump.

The funny thing is how bad the "I could shoot someone on 5th Avenue" quote would look just like all of Baldwins.

 

[Xarpho]

If I had a nickel for every time I saw an armchair prosecutor on this board demand proof of innocence, I'd have a lot of nickels.

Proof of innocence is not something a defendant ever needs. It helps their case if they can provide it. But it's up to the prosecutor to prove their guilt, not for the defendant to prove their innocence. Very often it's not possible for a person to prove their innocence because they don't have a continuous record of everything they did leading up to an event. Presumption of guilt is a tool for tyrants.

Technically that is how the law works, but you'd be doing yourself a disservice as given how presumption of guilt is how people like Alec Baldwin have run the world for the last several years (and wouldn't hesitate to use it against you).

- A woman you've never heard of suddenly perks up that you raped her at a party twenty years ago? You're a rapist now.
- A man dies in police custody? He was murdered, better start burning down the city before the body goes cold.
- A teenager is photographed smirking at a Native American? He deserves to have his life ruined.
- An "anonymous source" says that the President is involved in some illegal shit with a foreign country? He's OBVIOUSLY a puppet working for that foreign country.

You all remember the incidents in question (the first one is a fairly generic take, but mostly applies to a 2018 incident) and you can bet that Baldwin had some radical hot take for each of them that he never apologized or retracted.

None of this matters because nobody in this thread is the judge or jury of this case, but if you want to play Mr. Lawful Good in this case, they'll never play by those rules when the situation is flipped.

 

[Smug Cat]

The funny thing is how bad the "I could shoot someone on 5th Avenue" quote would look just like all of Baldwins.

Dude imagine how he'd reply to criticism about that quote. Holy shit, if there is a loving god please let this happen.

 

[Product Placement]

I'm mean it's highly likely with the info we have now that Baldwin is at some level of fault. He was both the producer and star of the movie it would have been very weird if he didn't hear about the gun incidents onset and the staff walkout due to safety concerns. He was one of a number of people who had the duty and power to stop the shoot so a safety check could be performed and a replacement for Hannah Gutierrez Reed could be found. Also, have to ask the question of why Hannah Gutierrez Reed got the job after her actions on the Old Way set.

But the question I have is if Baldwin was aware of the other incidents why would he take their word on it being a cold gun, just doesn't make sense to me unless he didn't know and if he didn't know got to ask why didn't he know.

This feel like John Landis on Twilight Zone the Movie more by the day rather than the Crow.

 

[69ing Ur Mom]

I wonder what the insurance policy is/was for a death of a crew member on set and who the money goes to?

Production violated standard safety procedures, voiding their policy. Insurance isn't going to pay out.

 

[Gar For Archer]

If I had a nickel for every time I saw an armchair prosecutor on this board demand proof of innocence, I'd have a lot of nickels.

Proof of innocence is not something a defendant ever needs. It helps their case if they can provide it. But it's up to the prosecutor to prove their guilt, not for the defendant to prove their innocence. Very often it's not possible for a person to prove their innocence because they don't have a continuous record of everything they did leading up to an event. Presumption of guilt is a tool for tyrants.

In this case, there wouldn’t be any footage that could “prove” his innocence, anyways. I mean like factually, he shot the gun, nobody is disputing this; and it was an accident, nobody who isn’t a schizo is unironically disputing this. It’s going to come down to whether or not he is determined to be criminally negligent for the obvious safety issues on set that he absolutely knew about, likely had a hand in glossing over (by bringing in scabs to replace the union workers who left due to safety concerns including prior firearms accidents), and had the power to stop by simply refusing to come on set until these issues were suitably resolved.

Now obviously we don’t have all the info. But based on what we DO know, it certainly looks like he knew about the safety issues, and despite having the authority to demand them be addressed (at higher cost to the production) he chose to actively ignore them and ended up getting a woman killed because of it. There’s a difference between a freak accident that could’ve been avoided by following basic safety protocol that exists specifically to prevent freak accidents as in Brandon Lee’s shooting, and continuing to work in and possibly directly contributing to an unsafe work environment which was so bad that it wasn’t a matter of when an accident would happen (as many already had occurred), but when somebody would actually end up getting hurt by one.

 

[Activelo]

More hilarity in the world of highly-qualified and competent female armorers, courtesy of the NY Post:

The “inexperienced” armorer in charge of weapons on set of Alec Baldwin’s movie “Rust” had given a gun to an 11-year-old actress without checking properly for safety, a report said.

“She was reloading the gun on the ground, where there were pebbles and stuff,” one source told the outlet. “We didn’t see her check it, we didn’t know if something got in the barrel or not.”

Gutierrez-Reed reportedly handed the gun to child actress Ryan Kiera Armstrong, forcing concerned crew members to intervene, the report said. The gun was then checked for barrel obstruction, according to the sources.

“She was a bit careless with the guns, waving it around every now and again,” a source said.

“There were a couple times she was loading the blanks and doing it in a fashion that we thought was unsafe.”

I think we can read the post just fine without Reddit-tier highlights, faggot.

 

[Jonah Hill poster]

Either way, I wouldn’t be shocked if the same pro gun control advocates will pull a doublespeak and try to guilt trip Hollywood into seriously doing this.

Imagine a new world where all guns are replaced with sticks and rocks.

>one year in the future
Have to get ready and prepared while the stove is hot

Apologies for double replying to myself, but Hollywood is beginning the steps:

ABC's 'The Rookie' bans 'live' guns on set following Alec Baldwin 'Rust' shooting

ABC's "The Rookie" has decided to ban "live" weapons from its set following the fatal shooting that took place on the set of Alec Baldwin's "Rust" on Thursday.

www.foxnews.com

The new policy is effective immediately, showrunner Alexi Hawley informed his staff on Friday, according to reports.

"As of today, it is now policy on The Rookie that all gunfire on set will be Air Soft guns with CG muzzle flashes added in post. There will be no more ‘live’ weapons on the show," his memo states via The Hollywood Reporter.

"As always, if you ever feel unsafe or witness anything that concerns you, please don't hesitate to report it," it concludes. "My door is always open."

 

[X Pac Heat]

Apologies for double replying to myself, but Hollywood is beginning the steps:

ABC's 'The Rookie' bans 'live' guns on set following Alec Baldwin 'Rust' shooting

ABC's "The Rookie" has decided to ban "live" weapons from its set following the fatal shooting that took place on the set of Alec Baldwin's "Rust" on Thursday.

www.foxnews.com

I'm surprised a network television show would use live fire these days TBQH

How often do they get into shootouts on The Rookie?

 

[Dan Abrams]

Apologies for double replying to myself, but Hollywood is beginning the steps:

ABC's 'The Rookie' bans 'live' guns on set following Alec Baldwin 'Rust' shooting

ABC's "The Rookie" has decided to ban "live" weapons from its set following the fatal shooting that took place on the set of Alec Baldwin's "Rust" on Thursday.

www.foxnews.com

So from now on shootouts in movies and TV shows will look even faker because there will be no recoil/the actor will have to pretend like there's recoil?

 

[Xarpho]

Didn't The Rookie already get pozzed following George Floyd?

 

[MadStan]

Sure is a lot of posts over a relatively straightforward matter.

Baldwin can't and won't be charged with a thing. Second Director who handed the gun is a real stretch and near zero bit still technically a possibility.

The Armourer? She is fucking toast. Her very role is literally immune from the defense of "accident".

Am I missing something or is that not the gist of it?

 

[Least Concern]

Sure is a lot of posts over a relatively straightforward matter.

Baldwin can't and won't be charged with a thing. Second Director who handed the gun is a real stretch and near zero bit still technically a possibility.

The Armourer? She is fucking toast. Her very role is literally immune from the defense of "accident".

Am I missing something or is that not the gist of it?

but but but i don't like baldwin's politics so all common sense must be disregarded and i need to figure out a way baldwin gets the chair somehow god dammit, occam and his razor are fagets

 

[Un Platano]

Technically that is how the law works, but you'd be doing yourself a disservice as given how presumption of guilt is how people like Alec Baldwin have run the world for the last several years (and wouldn't hesitate to use it against you).

- A woman you've never heard of suddenly perks up that you raped her at a party twenty years ago? You're a rapist now.
- A man dies in police custody? He was murdered, better start burning down the city before the body goes cold.
- A teenager is photographed smirking at a Native American? He deserves to have his life ruined.
- An "anonymous source" says that the President is involved in some illegal shit with a foreign country? He's OBVIOUSLY a puppet working for that foreign country.

You all remember the incidents in question (the first one is a fairly generic take, but mostly applies to a 2018 incident) and you can bet that Baldwin had some radical hot take for each of them that he never apologized or retracted.

None of this matters because nobody in this thread is the judge or jury of this case, but if you want to play Mr. Lawful Good in this case, they'll never play by those rules when the situation is flipped.

And that's not a reason why you should think it's okay for you to flip the situation. If rights like due process aren't guaranteed for the most awful people you can think of, then they aren't guaranteed for anyone. I should hope you aren't so petty that an actor who is a cunt on CNN is at the moment the worst person you can think of.

 

[69ing Ur Mom]

Sure is a lot of posts over a relatively straightforward matter.

Baldwin can't and won't be charged with a thing. Second Director who handed the gun is a real stretch and near zero bit still technically a possibility.

The Armourer? She is fucking toast. Her very role is literally immune from the defense of "accident".

Am I missing something or is that not the gist of it?

You overlooked that fact that he's a LOLcow. He punched someone over a parking spot.

Earlier in the thread there was an unconfirmed allegation that Baldwin threatened to kill Hutchins' career if she didn't get back to work after she voiced safety concerns. As a producer he knew about the safety issues and instead of addressing them, he hired scabs. That looks like proof of negligence, which would make him guilty of involuntary manslaughter at a minimum.

Fight with a photographer in 1995​

In October 1995, the actor sprayed shaving cream on a photographer Alan Zanger’s car windows outside his Woodland Hills, California, home. This led to a ‘scuffle’ between the actor and the photographer where Zanger claimed that Baldwin had broken his nose. Then the actor had defended himself saying that he just ‘slapped’ the camera out of the photographers’ hands, as reported by People magazine.

Misbehaving with American Airlines staff in 2011​

Baldwin was expelled from an American Airlines flight for using offensive language and misbehaving with the Airlines staff in 2011. The actor had then said, “Flight attendant on American reamed me out for playing ‘Words With Friends’ while we sat at the gate, not moving,” and also added “Last flight with American. Where retired Catholic school gym teachers from the 1950s find jobs as flight attendants.”

Another fight with a photographer in 2012​

A Daily News photographer Marcus Santos had claimed that he was punched by the actor to which Baldwin’s representative had replied, “As Alec and his fiancée [Hilaria Baldwin] were leaving City Hall, a ‘civilian’ walking in front of Alec positioned himself to obstruct the view of a photographer aggressively trying to shoot the couple. The photographer was clearly frustrated, pushed past the bystander and assaulted Alec with his camera. There were no punches thrown, and any subsequent physical contact was simply Alec protecting himself.”

Arrested for riding his bike the wrong way in 2014​

The actor was arrested for riding his bike the wrong way on Fifth Avenue ignoring the warnings issued by the authorities. NYPD spokesperson informed that Baldwin refused to slow and went the wrong way even after receiving warnings. The spokesperson also accused Baldwin of disorderly conduct.

Punching a man in 2018​

The New York City Police Department had charged the actor with assault and harassment in 2018 after Baldwin had punched a man on East 10th Street between University Place and Broadway. It was reportedly a row over a parking space.

US Actor Alec Baldwin's history of assault and angry behaviour

Alec Baldwin is in the news for allegedly shooting a cinematographer with a prop gun on the set of a movie called the 'Rust'. | OpIndia News

www.opindia.com

 

[Snekposter]

Sure is a lot of posts over a relatively straightforward matter.

Baldwin can't and won't be charged with a thing. Second Director who handed the gun is a real stretch and near zero bit still technically a possibility.

The Armourer? She is fucking toast. Her very role is literally immune from the defense of "accident".

Am I missing something or is that not the gist of it?

You don't get that Baldwin is the one who pulled the trigger. At the end of the day, no matter how finnicky the weapon or how absolutely sure everyone else was that the gun wasn't loaded with a lethal round, it was his irresponsibility as end-user, both with a failure to check the weapon and with trigger discipline (since he was indeed fucking around with it), it was his actions that lead the the gun firing. The AD is also out of the chain of custody, proper chain being that of armorer to actor, so he too is negligent since he never should have had his hands on the weapon. Had the AD double-checked the weapon (that he shouldn't have been handling in the first place), or Alec Baldwin exercised proper trigger discipline by keeping his fingers off the trigger or hammer, this disaster would have been averted. Plus what @69ing Ur Mom said up above.