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.

 

[JohnDoe]

Early in this happening, I remember reading reports that the pistol had "misfired" twice before;

If true, that makes the situation even worse for Baldwin, as a producer that makes him even more liable because he allowed a faulty/broken/malfunctioning gun to be used on the movie set he controlled. Imagine a producer doing this with a stunt car where the brakes have been shown to randomly fail, for example. Or ordering a camera crane to be reused after it's been shown to randomly retract it's support struts and collapse.

Even as an actor he had the power to refuse the gun (and as the biggest name there he could have done so, producer status or no) knowing that it was unsafe.

I wouldn't handle a gun I know doesn't function right under any circumstances, and nobody I know of would do so either. This is an insane, absurd lie.

 

[Clem Fandango]

I've got to hand it to Baldwin, it's impressive to be able to shoot one person without pulling the trigger.

To be able to shoot muliple people without pulling the trigger is fucking sorcery.

 

[Mariposa Electrique]

The liberal media is covering for him

 

[Pocket Dragoon]

I've got to hand it to Baldwin, it's impressive to be able to shoot one person without pulling the trigger.

To be able to shoot muliple people without pulling the trigger is fucking sorcery.

It's like technology so advanced as to appear indistinguishable from magic; only stupidity so intense, it's indistinguishable from sorcery.

 

[Snekposter]

If true, that makes the situation even worse for Baldwin, as a producer that makes him even more liable because he allowed a faulty/broken/malfunctioning gun to be used on the movie set he controlled. Imagine a producer doing this with a stunt car where the brakes have been shown to randomly fail, for example. Or ordering a camera crane to be reused after it's been shown to randomly retract it's support struts and collapse.

Even as an actor he had the power to refuse the gun (and as the biggest name there he could have done so, producer status or no) knowing that it was unsafe.

I wouldn't handle a gun I know doesn't function right under any circumstances, and nobody I know of would do so either. This is an insane, absurd lie.

I don't believe it was that specific gun that was mentioned as having misfired twice. Just that there were two firearms-related accidents fuckups prior to this one.

As to the gun, given the sear mentions earlier, its possible the transfer bar was improperly removed and the rest of the mechanisms not properly re-fitted afterwards, leading to a loose sear. Which would seem to fit given there were mentions of a "loose" trigger at some point.

 

[JohnDoe]

I don't believe it was that specific gun that was mentioned as having misfired twice. Just that there were two firearms-related accidents fuckups prior to this one.

As to the gun, given the sear mentions earlier, its possible the transfer bar was improperly removed and the rest of the mechanisms not properly re-fitted afterwards, leading to a loose sear. Which would seem to fit given there were mentions of a "loose" trigger at some point.

It still doesn't excuse the elements of recklessness or negligence, on either the armorer or Baldwin.

A loose sear is like the aforementioned spotty breaks or support struts, it's a case for immediate removal of the equipment from use until it is repaired and certified to work correctly. This isn't just good practice, but common sense. The armorer is responsible directly for that, but the producer Baldwin is also liable as he has the power to direct her work, fire her, etc.

Focusing further on Baldwin, loose sear or no my question would be who cocked the hammer? A loose trigger on a single action makes no difference if the hammer is down, I cannot believe that the weapon could malfunction in such a way that it not only cocks itself but also disengages the sear and fires, that just strains credulity. It's a bad story that falls apart regardless. The bottom line is that Baldwin handled the gun in a negligent manner.

Any single competent person would have prevented this, but the tragic truth is that Alec Baldwin was knowingly reckless and negligent both in his overall role as producer and acutely as an actor. He hired poorly and supervised worse, creating an atmosphere of palpable danger for his crew, ignoring frequent 'accidents' caused by carelessness and crew walkouts in depraved indifference to the risk of death or great bodily harm. As an actor he failed to treat a potentially deadly weapon with the due caution demanded by the risk it posed, by recklessly pointing it at another person and either deliberately pulling the trigger or allowing it to discharge, he acted with negligence resulting in the untimely death of a crew member. Alex Baldwin is both indirectly and directly responsible for Halyna Hutchin's death - he created the circumstances that made the firing of that gun possible, and aimed that gun directly at her at the time that it fired. All other circumstances and failures, absent Mr. Baldwin's negligence and reckless actions, Mrs. Hutchins would be alive today.

That is why the jury should find him guilty.

 

[Snekposter]

It still doesn't excuse the elements of recklessness or negligence, on either the armorer or Baldwin.

A loose sear is like the aforementioned spotty breaks or support struts, it's a case for immediate removal of the equipment from use until it is repaired and certified to work correctly. This isn't just good practice, but common sense. The armorer is responsible directly for that, but the producer Baldwin is also liable as he has the power to direct her work, fire her, etc.

Focusing further on Baldwin, loose sear or no my question would be who cocked the hammer? A loose trigger on a single action makes no difference if the hammer is down, I cannot believe that the weapon could malfunction in such a way that it not only cocks itself but also disengages the sear and fires, that just strains credulity. It's a bad story that falls apart regardless. The bottom line is that Baldwin handled the gun in a negligent manner.

Any single competent person would have prevented this, but the tragic truth is that Alec Baldwin was knowingly reckless and negligent both in his overall role as producer and acutely as an actor. He hired poorly and supervised worse, creating an atmosphere of palpable danger for his crew, ignoring frequent 'accidents' caused by carelessness and crew walkouts in depraved indifference to the risk of death or great bodily harm. As an actor he failed to treat a potentially deadly weapon with the due caution demanded by the risk it posed, by recklessly pointing it at another person and either deliberately pulling the trigger or allowing it to discharge, he acted with negligence resulting in the untimely death of a crew member. Alex Baldwin is both indirectly and directly responsible for Halyna Hutchin's death - he created the circumstances that made the firing of that gun possible, and aimed that gun directly at her at the time that it fired. All other circumstances and failures, absent Mr. Baldwin's negligence and reckless actions, Mrs. Hutchins would be alive today.

That is why the jury should find him guilty.

I've mentioned it before and I got that exact same response (or near enough, anyways). In no way, shape, or form am I trying to excuse his blatant fuckery since not even a late-war Nambu will decide to just fire off a round on its own because it feels like it. Indeed, the fact he was fucking around with a weapon known to be faulty only makes things worse in my eyes for what I am sure are obvious reasons.

 

[SITHRAK!]

its possible the transfer bar was improperly removed

If the transfer bar had been removed or disabled, the pistol would be unable to fire at all.

 

[RodgerDodger]

Funny enough they already did that with the latest iteration of looney tunes by getting rid of Elmer Fudd's gun.

Its been done in cartoons where the 1960s version of spiderman had actual guns and bullets, whereas the 1990s version of spiderman went full laser.

Hollywood itself has spread misinformation on how guns work or how they are really fired, like the M60 in Rambo is typically fired from a tank, helicopter or prone position with the stand, not like Rambo hip firing it. It also might be the reason why a certain group in this country fires pistols sideways and doesn't bother to aim.

Hollywood for now makes a lot of money off movies like John Wick or 13 hours but I noticed in the latest Rambo, he was using Fudd guns and traps to take down a bunch of thugs armed with the kind of weaponry find in the arsenal of the US Marine Corps and Stallone is well known for opposing gun ownership.

Net result, it will change nothing.

Video games for the most part have cast the biggest blow against gun control in the cultural sense and to some extent, do a better job of showing how guns work compared to Hollywood movies. Until video games get pozzed up with ARs replaced with laser rainbow flag dildos, Hollywood can't stop the march towards making gun rights popular.

Sorry to Necro old post, but I spotted this bit about Rambo, and Gad to mention where the Rambo legend comes from. In WW2 there was a US Marine who famously got his hands on one of the tail guns from a Dive Bomber. I believe it was a Browning 50 cal. Dude was a huge incredibly strong monster of a man. He was also a prewar real life metal smith. He re-engineered his gun with handles and modded the trigger so he could hand carry it and fire it from his waist. I believe he famously used it on Pelieliu and Iwo Jima. Acting as a sort of human tank. This one crazy dude, who alone was able to pull off this stunt in a war was where all the Hollywood shit comes from.

 

[Club Sandwich]

If the transfer bar had been removed or disabled, the pistol would be unable to fire at all.

maybe, maybe not. the prototypical transfer bar moves out of the way of the hammer's striking face when the trigger reaches the normal sear release position from full cock, some transfer bar designs require a flag to be between the hammer and the firing pin or the hammer physically couldn't move far enough forward to reach the firing pin. a removed transfer bar from a Ruger Service Six and similar would not prevent the revolver from functioning in the least - you simply are less safe for it. doing so with an S&W 642 will also not prevent firing, but instead you will have a high number of light primer strikes.

it really depends on the design implemented, and if the revolver involved is a Pietta replica of a period-correct revolver, the the transfer bar could be a modified USFA, Ruger, Iver Johnson, H&R, S&W, et c design which may or may not allow firing. Iver Johnson famously advertised their safety features and when they introduced a transfer bar safety to their revolvers it would "fail safe" and prevent even cocking the hammer.

 

[mr.moon1488]

They invented a special gun for the movie that fires without the trigger being pulled.

Sounds like maybe someone was drunk on set and doesn't remember things clearly.

I feel like he was probably showboating and pulled the trigger while pointing the pistol.

 

[The Valeyard]

Alec Baldwin says he feels no guilt about ‘Rust’ shooting

Alec Baldwin said he has only one unresolved question about the fatal shooting on the "Rust" film set: "Where did the live round come from?" Baldwin detailed

www.nbcnews.com

Archive

Spoiler: Article Text

Alec Baldwin said he has only one unresolved question about the fatal shooting on the "Rust" film set: "Where did the live round come from?"

Baldwin detailed his shock and disbelief after the Oct. 21 shootingthat killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, 42, and discussed the moments before it in an interview with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos that aired Thursday.

"There’s only one question to be resolved, only one, and that is where did the live round come from?" Baldwin said.

“Where did that bullet come from?” he said. “Somebody brought live rounds — plural — onto the set of the film. And one of them ended up in that gun.”

The actor and producer said he was rehearsing a scene when the prop gun went off, killing Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza, 48, at the Bonanza Creek Ranch in New Mexico. The shooting is under investigation.

In the interview, Baldwin insisted that he did not pull the trigger. In the scene, he was to draw his gun, raise it "and start to cock the pistol — cut," he said.

Baldwin said he was taking direction from Hutchins and pulled the hammer back as far as he could without cocking it.

"I’m just showing her, I go, ‘How about that? Does that work? Do you see that?' ... She said, 'yeah, that's good.'" Baldwin told Stephanopoulos. “I let go of the hammer — bang, the gun goes off."

"I would never point a gun at anyone and pull the trigger at them. Never," he said.

Baldwin said that he was told that the gun was empty and that he was so certain it was, that the idea that there was a live round in it didn't dawn on him until close to an hour after the shooting.

He initially believed Hutchins had fainted, he said.

Baldwin said that only near the end of an interview with police when a sheriff’s official showed him an image of the .45-caliber slug recovered from Souza did he learn it was a live round.

“And then the kind of insanity-inducing agony of thinking that someone put a live bullet in the gun,” he said.

Immediately after the shooting, much of the attention fell on assistant director Dave Halls, who had yelled “cold gun” on the “Rust” set before he gave Baldwin the weapon, indicating incorrectly that it didn’t have any live rounds, investigators said in a search warrant affidavit.

Halls’ attorney, Lisa Torraco, has maintained that her client didn’t hand the gun to Baldwin and that checking to see whether it was loaded wasn’t the assistant director’s responsibility.

In an interview that aired Thursday on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” Torraco said Halls has been telling her for weeks that Baldwin didn’t pull the trigger on the “Rust” set.

“Since Day One, he thought it was a misfire,” Torraco said. “And until Alec said that, it was really hard to believe but Dave has told me since the very first day I met him that Alec did not pull that trigger.”

Baldwin, who said it’s unlikely he’ll ever be in a movie that features a gun again, said in the interview that aired Thursday that he did not wish to portray himself as a victim, but said he has been plagued by dreams involving gunfire.

But, he feels no guilt, he said.

"I feel that someone is responsible for what happened, and I can’t say who that is,” Baldwin said. "But I know it’s not me."

He told Stephanopoulos that if he could, he "would go to any lengths to undo what happened."

No one has been arrested or criminally charged in connection with the shooting, which is being investigated by the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office.

A spokesman for the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office told NBC News Thursday morning that his agency would not discuss Baldwin's interview.

After the shooting, the district attorney for Santa Fe County, Mary Carmack-Altwies, said pressing charges could be a challenge.

She told NBC News that any potential charge tied to an “involuntary killing” would need “to show the willful disregard for the safety of others.”

“And so at this point, we are trying to figure out, should it become a criminal investigation? Should it become more of a civil investigation? So it’s an investigation,” Carmack-Altwies said a week after the killing.

 

[SITHRAK!]

Dude was a huge incredibly strong monster of a man.

He'd have to be, an M2 loaded with a liner of 100 rounds weighs around 90 pounds, and without a tripod he would be risking all kinds of crap getting into the body of the weapon if he put it down.

maybe, maybe not. the prototypical transfer bar moves out of the way of the hammer's striking face when the trigger reaches the normal sear release position from full cock, some transfer bar designs require a flag to be between the hammer and the firing pin or the hammer physically couldn't move far enough forward to reach the firing pin. a removed transfer bar from a Ruger Service Six and similar would not prevent the revolver from functioning in the least - you simply are less safe for it. doing so with an S&W 642 will also not prevent firing, but instead you will have a high number of light primer strikes.

You raise a good point. I posted a link to the Pietta SAA manual in post #1183 on page 60.

Here’s an excerpt that indicates it would be extremely unlikely for the Pietta to be functional should the transfer bar be removed or disabled. It’s speculation at this point that it’s a Pietta and that the transfer bar removal would completely disable the weapon, but it’s a pretty good bet.

 

[Pocket Dragoon]

Sorry to Necro old post, but I spotted this bit about Rambo, and Gad to mention where the Rambo legend comes from. In WW2 there was a US Marine who famously got his hands on one of the tail guns from a Dive Bomber. I believe it was a Browning 50 cal. Dude was a huge incredibly strong monster of a man. He was also a prewar real life metal smith. He re-engineered his gun with handles and modded the trigger so he could hand carry it and fire it from his waist. I believe he famously used it on Pelieliu and Iwo Jima. Acting as a sort of human tank. This one crazy dude, who alone was able to pull off this stunt in a war was where all the Hollywood shit comes from.

He'd have to be, an M2 loaded with a liner of 100 rounds weighs around 90 pounds, and without a tripod he would be risking all kinds of crap getting into the body of the weapon if he put it down.

It was this hero:
Marine Corporal Tony Stein

You raise a good point. I posted a link to the Pietta SAA manual in post #1183 on page 60.

View attachment 2772351
Here’s an excerpt that indicates it would be extremely unlikely for the Pietta to be functional should the transfer bar be removed or disabled. It’s speculation at this point that it’s a Pietta and that the transfer bar removal would completely disable the weapon, but it’s a pretty good bet.

That's why I think the pistol had a worn/damaged trigger assembly/sear, along with whatever kind of other abuse it's seen; like fanning, spinning by the trigger-guard, etc.

I'm surprised it doesn't mention anything about a half-cock system; I know a lot of revolvers that don't need it, still have it for safety reasons.

 

[SITHRAK!]

It was this:

Yeah that’s a .30 cal, a much lighter and smaller weapon. The M2 is a pretty poor choice for a man portable weapon.

I'm surprised it doesn't mention anything about a half-cock system

The rest of the manual does go into detail about the use of the half-cock.

 

[Dan Abrams]

"I feel that someone is responsible for what happened, and I can’t say who that is,” Baldwin said. "But I know it’s not me."

Fuck this faggot, I hope the police are listening every time he opens his big dumb mouth on TV.

The person holding the gun has final responsibility for whatever happens with it.

 

[Snekposter]

Yeah that’s a .30 cal, a much lighter and smaller weapon. The M2 is a pretty poor choice for a man portable weapon.

The Stinger is a very impressive design regardless. While not up to the same standards as say, the MG42 in terms of sustained fire and quality of workmanship, the fact a few Marines were able to build it in a ship's machine shop out of scraps is quite a feat.

(Okay, not really since firearms are mechanically simple as hell, but I couldn't resist.)

 

[Super-Chevy454]

The liberal media is covering for him

How long they'll able to cover him before he become so toxic then no one would touch him with a ten foot pole?

 

[Billy Beer]

Fuck this faggot, I hope the police are listening every time he opens his big dumb mouth on TV.

The person holding the gun has final responsibility for whatever happens with it.

You can tell he's guilty and he knows it, because a normal, sane person, would take responsibility either way, because they were holding the gun.

"Whatever happened, whatever the series of events that led to the gun been loaded, I was the last person to hold it, which ultimately took Halynia's (sp?) life. I feel so guilty, so responsible. God forgive me" - sane person

"Yeah I've no idea what happened but whatever happened it wasn't my fault " - Sociopathic FAG

 

[Snekposter]

You can tell he's guilty and he knows it, because a normal, sane person, would take responsibility either way, because they were holding the gun.

"Whatever happened, whatever the series of events that led to the gun been loaded, I was the last person to hold it, which ultimately took Halynia's (sp?) life. I feel so guilty, so responsible. God forgive me" - sane person

"Yeah I've no idea what happened but whatever happened it wasn't my fault " - Sociopathic FAG

On the contrary. As reprehensible as his actions before, during, and after the event are, his current behavior is the only thing keeping every personal injury and wrongful death attorney in the state of New Mexico from shoving a massive court judgement right up his ass. Not that said judgement wouldn't be well-deserved, because if anyone deserved that its Baldwin, but the fact he's currently stretching the law and violating all good moral sense to keep his rectum intact is understandable. You never, ever admit responsibility when there's the possibility of pending legal action since your words and can will be used against you in civil court as an admission of culpability.

I mean, seriously. For all we shit on the people in Lolcow and Lolcow LLP threads when it comes to dumb shit like not listening to their counsel's advice, you'd think we understand that Baldwin is following it better than your average lolcow in one of those threads.