Alec Baldwin fired prop gun, killing 1 on movie set, Oct 2021 #2

[whitelilac]

In presser : he corrected it to 500 (combination) of dummy & live ammunition on set
When asked about AB: No one has been ruled out
90 people on the set: so many still need to be interviewed
It was a live round - a bullet that was fired

It wasn't asked or stated that all these rounds were stored together, or how they were stored, right? I would have liked to know that.

 

[BeachSky]

It wasn't asked or stated that all these rounds were stored together, or how they were stored, right? I would have liked to know that.

They are still working on it..is what I understand.

 

[RANCH]

Gun was F Lee Pieta Long bolt revolver?

1873 Great Western II Revolvers - EMF Company, Inc.

 

[Mo Thuairim]

So the two other firearms on that tray were non-functioning. One had been modified and the other was a fake gun if I heard correctly what was said in the presser. AD picked up the one gun that was functional and loaded with at least one bullet.

ETA: Went back and listened again. Sheriff thinks the modified gun would not have functioned but that has yet to be determined conclusively. The other gun was plastic.

 

[shotgun09]

I missed it, if this question was asked or answered, but were there additional live rounds found in the Colt 45?
Were there any blanks found in the Colt 45?

 

[Flurries]

Horrified! Just in general from everything that I have read and heard.

I encourage everyone to take gun safety classes if you own, or are ever near, firearms. Just as you would take swimming classes if you are near lakes, oceans, pools.

My Jr High used to have regular (maybe monthly) LE visitors for drug safety, gun safety, railroad safety, etc… assemblies. (There was a RE track next to my Jr High and they feared someone was going to get hurt having out near the tracks.)
We continued in High School with DUI assemblies, and gun safety training, as my area had many people that hunted. During hunting season, you would see student trucks with rifles in the back window on gun racks.
NO one was ever shot or threatened with a gun during my time in school. (Late 70’s)

 

[RANCH]

If they had used this blank firing only gun that uses .380 blanks this tragedy would have never happened.

These fine reproductions of the classic western six shooter revolver fire .380 caliber blanks as fast as you can *advertiser censored* the hammer. These guns are made to look and feel like an authentic 1873 single action revolver. Features include a working loading gate and shell ejector, a non-removable cylinder, and wood grips. Manufactured by F.LLI Pietta.

Blank Firing - EMF Company, Inc.

 

[Flurries]

If they had used this blank firing only gun that uses .380 blanks this tragedy would have never happened.


Blank Firing - EMF Company, Inc.

By all accounts, and this was a low budget movie. I doubt they were willing to pay for those true “prop guns,” since they were unwilling to house their crew nearby (per the crew contract).

 

[whitelilac]

So the two other firearms on that tray were non-functioning. One had been modified and the other was a fake gun if I heard correctly what was said in the presser. AD picked up the one gun that was functional and loaded with at least one bullet.

ETA: Went back and listened again. Sheriff thinks the modified gun would not have functioned but that has yet to be determined conclusively. The other gun was plastic.

Why were there 3 firearms on that cart in the first place? It was a rehearsal involving only one gun.

 

[BUF]

Alec Baldwin fired ‘single bullet which killed Halyna Hutchins then hit director’

 

[RANCH]

By all accounts, and this was a low budget movie. I doubt they were willing to pay for those true “prop guns,” since they were unwilling to house their crew nearby (per the crew contract).

I wonder if these blank firing only guns could be rented?

The blank firing gun is cheaper, $450, than the .45 LC,$590 that was used so it would have saved them money. JMO.

1873 Great Western II Revolvers - EMF Company, Inc.

 

[Arkay]

I know nothing about guns because I've lived my whole life in NYC where there is no such thing as gun training in schools, etc. Of course there are guns here, but for most civilians a legal gun is difficult to acquire.

I can't imagine how Mr. Souza is coping. I would freak out if a bullet were removed from my shoulder that didn't kill me because it killed my friend first. They must have been at such close range to Alec.

I thought that Sheriff Mendoza was clear and concise, and the D.A. too. There's a lot of puzzle pieces that they still have to fit together.

 

[Gardenista]

'Rust' Assistant Director Admits Gun Safety Lapses Before Fatal Shooting


According to a new search warrant, obtained by TMZ, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed told authorities the day of the shooting she had checked the ammo -- which she called the "dummies," meaning they were not live rounds. She added there were never live rounds on the set.

She went on to say the gun was locked up in a safe in a prop truck during the lunch break and taken out shortly before the fatal scene. The implication -- she's saying the gun appeared safe to her, because it wasn't messed with it during lunch. She did, however, say there were a few people who had access to the safe.

 

[LaborDayRN]

'Rust' Assistant Director Admits Gun Safety Lapses Before Fatal Shooting


According to a new search warrant, obtained by TMZ, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed told authorities the day of the shooting she had checked the ammo -- which she called the "dummies," meaning they were not live rounds. She added there were never live rounds on the set.

She went on to say the gun was locked up in a safe in a prop truck during the lunch break and taken out shortly before the fatal scene. The implication -- she's saying the gun appeared safe to her, because it wasn't messed with it during lunch. She did, however, say there were a few people who had access to the safe.

Interesting. I'll have to read the story to see if she mentions that the gun was used for target practice just that morning. Obviously there were live rounds "on the set" as someone loaded them into the gun for target practice. Someone (several someone's it appears to me) failed to check the weapon prior to it being used on set.

 

[BeachSky]

I assumed film companies just rented their props from some prop company. But I'm not sure that would work with real firearms. I'm not sure how that works.

My brother “rents out”his vintage cars for movies. Perhaps this happens with vintage guns? IDK

JMO

 

[LaborDayRN]

'Rust' Assistant Director Admits Gun Safety Lapses Before Fatal Shooting


According to a new search warrant, obtained by TMZ, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed told authorities the day of the shooting she had checked the ammo -- which she called the "dummies," meaning they were not live rounds. She added there were never live rounds on the set.

She went on to say the gun was locked up in a safe in a prop truck during the lunch break and taken out shortly before the fatal scene. The implication -- she's saying the gun appeared safe to her, because it wasn't messed with it during lunch. She did, however, say there were a few people who had access to the safe.

Assistant director David Halls -- the person who handed the weapon to Baldwin and called it a "cold gun" -- confessed when she showed him the firearm before rehearsal he could only remember seeing 3 rounds. He admitted he should have checked all of the rounds, and doesn't remember if Hannah spun the drum before she handed him the gun, and he, in turn, handed it to Baldwin.

After cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and director Joel Souza were shot, Halls says he inspected the chamber and he remembers seeing at least 4 dummy casings with the signature hole on the side, and one without the hole. He said the one without the hole didn't have a cap ... the implication is it was the remains of a live round of ammunition.
'Rust' Assistant Director Admits Gun Safety Lapses Before Fatal Shooting

 

[whitelilac]

'Rust' Assistant Director Admits Gun Safety Lapses Before Fatal Shooting


According to a new search warrant, obtained by TMZ, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed told authorities the day of the shooting she had checked the ammo -- which she called the "dummies," meaning they were not live rounds. She added there were never live rounds on the set.

She went on to say the gun was locked up in a safe in a prop truck during the lunch break and taken out shortly before the fatal scene. The implication -- she's saying the gun appeared safe to her, because it wasn't messed with it during lunch. She did, however, say there were a few people who had access to the safe.

bbm
But there were.
Was the target shooting done with blanks?
Is she proposing that someone else supplied live rounds, and put them in that prop truck?
It was also stated earlier that live rounds were stored in the same area as the blanks, so who stored them? As the person responsible for the guns wouldn't she be aware?

 

[10ofRods]

Why were there 3 firearms on that cart in the first place? It was a rehearsal involving only one gun.

Well, one of the guns was a total prop and would have been used for instances when the actor was just practicing blocking and stage business, that would be the rubber/plastic gun. It would not look real in the scene. The second gun would have looked real but it was unable to be fired (should have been the choice here).

That last gun was the "coolest" gun because it was a vintage Colt .45 and therefore felt and behaved like a real gun - because it was. Lots of people would appreciate the chance to handle one (and shoot it properly). Alec felt more "in character" in the shot - and if everyone thought it contained blanks, then they were shooting film (the Sheriff said there was some film from the set that morning, so they weren't just rehearsing.

Armorer is not mentioned as being on set for that shot...which was a huge mistake (obviously, she wasn't a professional or real armorer, just someone with the titlle, IMO. Nick Cage has spoken out about her lack of experience and professionalism in the only other film where she was an armorer.

And then of course, there's the impetuous and apparently arrogant Assistant Director (MOO).

At any rate, there's a fine line between a rehearsal where the gaffer and the camera crew is there - and practice shots. The gaffer, Serge Svetnoy has posted about the situation and provided a picture on Facebook. It is the last picture of Halyna alive. It looks like the set has been cleared of all but essential personnel and if it is a rehearsal, From my POV, Halyna is using the camera in that shot...which is of Alec and a little boy who is playing the role of his grandson.

It's interesting that no one has mentioned that there were also child actors on the set.

 

[Gardenista]

'Rust' AD admits he 'should have checked' gun before on-set shooting

“Rust” assistant director David Halls said he picked up the gun and brought it over to the production’s armorer, Hannah Gutierrez, to be checked before resuming rehearsal the day of the fatal incident on the Santa Fe, New Mexico, production, according to a search warrant filed Wednesday in Santa Fe County Magistrate Court.

“I check the barrel for obstructions, most of the time there’s no live fire, [Hannah] opens the hatch and spins the drum, and I say cold gun on set,” Halls told authorities, referring to a production term that means that the firearm doesn’t contain live rounds.

More at the link

 

[Datchery]

Can someone who knows guns comment on these recent statements by HGR and DH? I don't know how you are supposed to check a gun, so I'm confused--are they saying that both of them checked the gun, but may not have done it correctly? What does it mean when he says he "only saw three rounds in the chamber" and should have checked all of them?

What I do get is that either there were real bullets on set or there weren't. HGR is saying there weren't, but obviously there were. So either she's lying or someone was breaking the rules.