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.

 

[Kulee Baba]

two things 1. if trump was reelected Alec probably wouldn't have been on set to do a murder that day 2. Alec's filmography post murder is fucking sparse. I know he had quite a varied career and was always just an extremely popular character actor but holy shit its been two years and his career is fucking no where. he has 7 kids to support and he's easily made fuck all in terms of money in 2022 or 2023. Is he just blacklisted at this point? You really telling me there wasn't some streaming service willing to throw money at him for some bullshit comedy the last two years?

I really think him doing Trump imitations for what felt like 3 years on SNL was probably a horrible decision for him career wise. And no I'm not saying he pissed off conservatives, conservatives ALREADY KNEW Alec Baldwin hated Republicans. It's that he really typecasted himself as just being a Trump impersonator when as you noted he could just be interchangeably used in a dozen movies and be fine.

Like does anyone remember 30 Rock? It was legitimately the last great American network sitcom, the writing was clever and all the main cast just did a good job nailing jokes. And Alec killed playing Jack ironically playing a corporate conservative. I would have rather watched him do that character more than those hastily written Trump skits.

Getting derailed but I don't even think they'd try to reboot 30 Rock because it was a genuinely tongue and cheek sitcom and where while Tina Fey is a strong spoken liberal she didn't just write it so that Jack Donaghy was just a stupid piece of shit. Can't lampoon Republicans anymore unless they're monsters.

 

[CowPox]

I really think him doing Trump imitations for what felt like 3 years on SNL was probably a horrible decision for him career wise. And no I'm not saying he pissed off conservatives, conservatives ALREADY KNEW Alec Baldwin hated Republicans. It's that he really typecasted himself as just being a Trump impersonator when as you noted he could just be interchangeably used in a dozen movies and be fine.

Like does anyone remember 30 Rock? It was legitimately the last great American network sitcom, the writing was clever and all the main cast just did a good job nailing jokes. And Alec killed playing Jack ironically playing a corporate conservative. I would have rather watched him do that character more than those hastily written Trump skits.

Getting derailed but I don't even think they'd try to reboot 30 Rock because it was a genuinely tongue and cheek sitcom and where while Tina Fey is a strong spoken liberal she didn't just write it so that Jack Donaghy was just a stupid piece of shit. Can't lampoon Republicans anymore unless they're monsters.

If you watch tv you are a retard etc.

 

[Get the rope Macaulay!]

Tina Fey is a strong spoken liberal s

while she is a liberal, she's like a texas liberal. She straight up apologized to colin quinn in the 2000s for acting like such a cunt that he was forced to call her a cunt. plus as you said 30 rock is sort of messy from a modern liberal perspective. the conservative guy is legitimately smarter and more capable than everyone else, whos a MADtv esque-sterotype. Tracy Morgan's shucking and jiving, the uptight tina is neurotic and can't handle shit, every other woman is a bimbo. Its very well written but if it wasn't and was released by ben shapiro people would see it for how regressive it is. Even the way the women are treated in mean girls is similarly incel-ish or at least thats how women would respond if the film came out in 2023 by ben shapiro

I'm sure even Tina Fey has admitted she'd change stuff about the show, at minimum i doubt if someone like colin quinn called her a cunt today she'd apologize for being a cunt.

Can't lampoon Republicans anymore unless they're monsters.

agreed, which is strange considering especially SNL people hang out with "conservatives" when they leave work to do stand up. Michael Che used to do LOS which is considered conservative to new yorkers, so he clearly knows they aren't monsters and i bet the rest of the cast and writers feel similar. Shane Gillis had to have met the cast and crew at least once before getting the boot and if his career gets better he'll probably host (if Nate's hosting, Shane can host)

 

[Terrifik]

https://twitter.com/BNONews/status/1748427819938418705

A grand jury has indicted Alec Baldwin on an involuntary manslaughter charge in the deadly shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the New Mexico set of "Rust," months after prosecutors dropped their case against the actor over her death.

 

[kcbbq]

https://twitter.com/BNONews/status/1748427819938418705

View attachment 5648276

Ooh, Fox News is giving the story the red text treatment. Neat.

https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/alec-baldwin-faces-new-indictment-rust-movie-set-shooting

"We look forward to our day in court," Baldwin's lawyers Alex Spiro and Luke Nikas told Fox News Digital on Friday.

So do I. So do I.

 

[ForTheHoard]

https://twitter.com/BNONews/status/1748427819938418705

View attachment 5648276

Can't the prosecutors still blow the case? Grand juries don't lead prosecutions.

 

[Iron Jaguar]

Like does anyone remember 30 Rock? It was legitimately the last great American network sitcom, the writing was clever and all the main cast just did a good job nailing jokes. And Alec killed playing Jack ironically playing a corporate conservative.

Yes, it was incredibly well done and Jack Donaghy was fantastic.
Ron Swanson, from Parks and Recreation, was another great character played by a complete shitlib.

 

[Hitman One]

Alecbros wtf??? He took the kid and husband for breakfast and everything??? Why are they being so ungrateful?

 

[Kulee Baba]

Yes, it was incredibly well done and Jack Donaghy was fantastic.
Ron Swanson, from Parks and Recreation, was another great character played by a complete shitlib.

I’m glad he was able to do the work he was born for, getting his crusty hairy ass filled with semen in The Last of Us.

 

[maguyver16]

Ron Swanson, from Parks and Recreation, was another great character played by a complete shitlib

Say sike now.

 

[John.Doe]

Can't the prosecutors still blow the case? Grand juries don't lead prosecutions.

Anything is possible when it comes to juries, they can be retarded or biased or whatever. They might fall for any kind of bullshit about how it wasn't his fault because the OnlyFans armorer didn't do her job correctly or whatever. Legally speaking, however, who loaded it and why is irrelevant, and we have case law that is perfectly in point from that states supreme court which clearly states that regardless of who loaded the gun or when, criminal liability is fixed in the person with the gun in their hand at the time of shooting.

State v. Gilliam, 288 P.2d 675 (New Mexico Sup. Ct. 1955)
The decision was an appeal of a criminal conviction at a jury trial, in which the defendant had been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter by the act of unsafely handling a gun with the result that it discharged and killed the victim.

The NM Supreme Court ruled in that decision, in relevant part that:

It could have made no difference to the trial of a charge of involuntary manslaughter as to who loaded the gun … . All that it is necessary to establish for involuntary manslaughter by the use of a loaded firearm is that a defendant had in his hands a gun which at some time had been loaded and that he handled it … without due caution and circumspection and that death resulted.

Pointing a gun at someone and pulling the trigger counts as 'handling without due caution and circumspection'.

It should be an open and shut case because Baldwin had the ultimate, final power to prevent Hutchins death. He could have checked the gun, or even asked why they weren't using a rubber stunt gun for a rehearsal, or simply followed the most basic safety rules and NOT pointed a firearm at another human being.

Baldwin has decades in Hollywood, thus he knows how guns are to be handled on set, he sits on the board of a gun-control organization, thus he knows of the hazards of mishandling, and therefore he was perfectly knowledgeable and capable.

The one person who had the ability to stop the chain of negligence or circumstance leading to the death of Hutchins was Baldwin.

 

[innocent jogger]

Pointing a gun at someone and pulling the trigger counts as 'handling without due caution and circumspection'.

This.

 

[mlanguishi]

Pointing a gun at someone and pulling the trigger counts as 'handling without due caution and circumspection'.

Yep, they're going to get him on at least that and probably for lying that it went off by itself. I don't know the plea situation there, but Boogie was facing like 10 years instead of 18 months for what he did and took a plea for 2 years probation and it'll be dropped if he doesn't violate. Baldwin's only chance is a starstruck jury, which would be so risky to try.

 

[he who has thus come/gone]

Can't the prosecutors still blow the case? Grand juries don't lead prosecutions.

Yes. Grand juries have extremely wide latitude to investigate all types of things, even if not directed to do so by prosecutors. They can find probable cause for a criminal offense, but that doesn't mean prosecutors must follow through on prosecution. Otherwise, plea deals wouldn't be a thing. Still, Baldwin will forever be a guy indicted for manslaughter, which is the least he deserves for killing that lady.

 

[ForTheHoard]

Yes. Grand juries have extremely wide latitude to investigate all types of things, even if not directed to do so by prosecutors. They can find probable cause for a criminal offense, but that doesn't mean prosecutors must follow through on prosecution. Otherwise, plea deals wouldn't be a thing. Still, Baldwin will forever be a guy indicted for manslaughter, which is the least he deserves for killing that lady.

Is there any reason to believe the prosecutor won't just drop it again? If something hasn't changed, this isn't really news. Being indicted for manslaughter will have 0 effect on the trajectory on his life going forward.

 

[Morethanabitfoolish]

Is there any reason to believe the prosecutor won't just drop it again? If something hasn't changed, this isn't really news. Being indicted for manslaughter will have 0 effect on the trajectory on his life going forward.

I've only seen the BBC article on it, seems that the new evidence confirms he pulled the trigger despite repeatedly stating he didn't.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-68038106

A grand jury in New Mexico has charged Alec Baldwin with a fresh count of involuntary manslaughter over a fatal movie set shooting in October 2021.
Previous charges against the Emmy award-winning actor were dropped last April, just two weeks before a criminal trial against him was due to begin.
Local prosecutors have since shared "additional facts" from forensic tests on the weapon used in the shooting.
Attorneys for Mr Baldwin told the BBC: "We look forward to our day in court."
Mr Baldwin, 65, was practicing firing a Colt .45 pistol before filming a scene for Rust, an upcoming Western film shot near Santa Fe, in October 2021.
But the gun went off, fatally striking 42-year-old cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza.

The actor has maintained he did not pull the trigger and only drew back the hammer of the pistol.
He has also argued he is not at fault for Ms Hutchins' death because he did not know the weapon contained live rounds and because no live ammunition was supposed to be on set.
But special prosecutors in New Mexico said in October that they had commissioned forensic experts to reconstruct the weapon, after it had been broken during FBI testing.
They said doing so revealed that the incident could only have taken place if the trigger had been pulled.
"Although Alec Baldwin repeatedly denies pulling the trigger, given the tests, findings and observations reported here, the trigger had to be pulled or depressed sufficiently to release the fully cocked or retracted hammer of the evidence revolver," their report concluded.


The new evidence was brought to a grand jury of 12 beginning on Thursday, with a requirement for at least eight to agree on probable cause for new charges.
Their one-count indictment was issued on Friday under two alternative legal theories - that Mr Baldwin was either negligent in his use of a firearm or that he acted with "total disregard or indifference for the safety of others".
Prosecutors have indicated that he can only be convicted on one of these theories, not both. If convicted, he faces up to 18 months in prison.
An attorney representing Ms Hutchins' family said it was "looking forward to the criminal trial".
"Our clients have always sought the truth about what happened on the day that Halyna Hutchins was tragically shot and killed," Gloria Allred said in a statement.
"They continue to seek the truth in our civil lawsuit for them and they also would like there [sic] to be accountability in the criminal justice system."
Mr Baldwin - who has expressed "shock and sadness" at Ms Hutchins' death - said in recent court filings that he has struggled to find acting work since the incident.
Friday's indictment comes exactly one year after the first manslaughter charge against him was announced. But the original case fell apart amid challenges from the Hollywood star's lawyers and the initial team of prosecutors stepped down.
The new prosecution team dismissed the charge in April 2023 over evidence that the gun may have been modified, causing it to malfunction and discharge without the trigger being pulled.
But, as prosecutors weighed whether to refile charges in light of their new forensic results, judges had put several civil lawsuits against Mr Baldwin and other Rust producers on hold.
A low-budget independent flick, Rust was said to be a passion project for Mr Baldwin. He stars in the film as outlaw Harland Rust, in addition to co-writing it with Mr Souza, the director, and receiving a producer credit.


Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who was responsible for weapons and ammunitions on set as the film's armourer, faces her own manslaughter charge, as well as a charge of evidence tampering. She has pleaded not guilty and will stand trial next month.
Dave Halls, who was in charge of safety on set as the first assistant director, pleaded no contest last March to a misdemeanour charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon. His plea agreement entailed six months of unsupervised probation in lieu of prison time.
Rust was completed in May, after producers decided to finish the movie as a tribute to Ms Hutchins, and is currently awaiting distribution.
Ms Hutchins' widower, Matthew, and her son, who was nine at the time, will receive a portion of the film's profits in line with a wrongful death settlement approved in June by a judge.

Hilariously it seems the gun was "broken" during FBI testing. So they had to get specialists to examine it.

 

[Rei is Shit.]

Can someone make Baldwin Reloaded already or do I have to?

 

[Al from Dadeville]

Alec’s dumbass wife dragged the 10-year-old daughter in front of the paparazzi to “record” them, kinda like she did on her own when Alec first killed that woman.

 

[ForTheHoard]

I've only seen the BBC article on it, seems that the new evidence confirms he pulled the trigger despite repeatedly stating he didn't.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-68038106

Hilariously it seems the gun was "broken" during FBI testing. So they had to get specialists to examine it.

It's not new evidence. Half of the "breaking news" that comes from this case was proven in this thread during the first couple weeks.

All the gun spergs, including myself, were posting diagrams of how it was impossible for the gun to go off without the trigger being held, even if the firing mechanism was damaged. Me and about a half dozen other people here own the exact same model of revolver used in the shooting, and the existence of a modern transfer bar makes it impossible for a failure to cause the hammer to hit the primer.

Alec said his finger was never even on the trigger, but maybe a month or two after it happened, they released the footage they had recorded in the takes before the shot was fired, and Alec's finger was on the trigger for every take.

 

[Cpl. Long Dong Silver]

Throw the book at this gorilla nigger