Alec Baldwin fired prop gun, killing 1 on movie set, Oct 2021 #4

[Luna20]

I do think it is important that he is pointing out AB's negligence. I am tired of all the articles painting AB out to be a total victim in this tragic incident. :



He told TMZ that he's suing Baldwin because he 'owed a duty to the Plaintiff and other crew members and actors on the "Rust" set to handle the Colt Revolver provided to him by Defendant Halls with reasonable care and diligence for the safety of "Rust" cast and crew.'

This duty called for Defendant Baldwin to double-check the Colt Revolver with Halls upon being handled to ensure that it did not contain live ammonization,' he added in the court documents.

Besides his alleged negligence as an actor Svetnoy also pointed to the 63-year-old's negligence as a producer of the movie.

He wrote: 'They attempted to save money by hiring an insufficient number of crew members to safely handle the props and firearms.'

According to TMZ the suit went on to claim that there were other failings on set, including violating 'industry norms, declining requests for weapons training days, failing to allow proper time to allow for gunfire, failing to send out safety bulletins and spreading the staff too thin'.

I agree and it’s not easy to go up against any well known actor. The possibility of retaliation and loss of work is unsettling.

 

[10ofRods]

Snipped: I think the sabotage defense is meant to keep her out of jail. Her liability should be covered by the production's liability policy.

But they are quite under-insured. But you're right, she's trying to stay out of jail. And that has to come first.

TMZ reported that they have $6M total. Not nearly enough, but since the case is in California, perhaps enough to cover this particular employee - if she's not charged.

I believe she will be charged, though. I also think much of what she is saying will be challenged during that process. So I don't think this approach will keep her out of jail and that the lawyer is still putting her in a bad spot by asserting a particular defense so early. He has her saying that there were no live rounds on set and she wouldn't have permitted it, but I'm wagering that other witnesses will say differently and that's a problem for her.

 

[grammieto5]

I am having trouble believing AB believes he is the one responsible for this "accident". When he handles a gun he thinks of it as "gun play". There were other things that should have happened before AB put his hands around that gun, but he pulled the trigger. I will be very surprised if anything happens with AB.

 

[10ofRods]

Yeah, I'll be very surprised if he faces any criminal charges, but also extremely surprised if he doesn't face civil liability and/or years of paying lawyers to combat the top notch contingency lawyers hired by his opponents.

A terrible series of events, with a mix of negligent (pulling the trigger) to...grossly negligent (putting a live round into a prop gun).

 

[Cool Cats]

As Alec Baldwin faces a lawsuit, all eyes are on the gun that killed Halyna Hutchins

Who checked the deadly Colt?
At some point after 1 p.m., the crew came back from eating lunch just a short drive away from the church set. What happened next depends on who you speak with.

According to the search warrant, Gutierrez Reed says prop master Zachary “pulled the firearms out of the safe and handed them to her.” With regard to the Colt involved in the deadly shooting, it was then handed to assistant director Halls.

Veteran Hollywood armorers say it is indeed standard procedure for a weapon to pass from an armorer to an assistant director and on to an actor, with the weapon being checked at every handoff.

Bowles says his client “spun the cylinder for Halls” and gave him the weapon. Halls told investigators that, typically, procedure on set would lead him to “check the barrel for obstructions, most of the time there’s no live fire, she (Hannah) opens the hatch and spins the drum and I say 'cold gun' on set.”

In this instance, Halls told police that when Gutierrez Reed gave him the Colt during rehearsal he only saw three rounds and “advised he should have checked them all, but didn’t, and couldn’t recall if she spun the drum.”

This conflicts with Gutierrez Reed's assertion that she had loaded six dummies into the Colt previously, and that she had spun the barrel for Halls.

Halls’ attorney, Lisa Torraco, told Fox News that checking a firearm is “not the assistant director’s job. If he chooses to check the firearm because he wants to make sure that everyone’s safe, he can do that, but that’s not his responsibility.”

Torraco also disputed that Halls was the one who handed Baldwin the weapon, contrasting what Halls himself told New Mexico authorities in his statement. Calls and emails to Lisa Torraco Law were not returned.

Director Souza told investigators that firearms were routinely checked by Gutierrez Reed as well as Halls.

When the cast and crew returned from lunch to the church set, they continued to rehearse while the crew set up the production’s lone camera after the other crew walked off. No video or audio was running.

Souza says he is not sure if the Colt was checked again before it was given to Baldwin. Cameraman Russell also told detectives that he had stepped out for five minutes, and when he returned the Colt was with Baldwin and he didn’t know if it had been checked.

At this point, Gutierrez Reed momentarily stepped outside of the church, according to her lawyer. What happened next went quickly:

Rehearsal, then a 'terrifying whoosh'

 

[grammieto5]

With so many people saying they are not sure if the gun was checked before it was handed to AB, it would make since then, for the one and only person who would be the one to pull that trigger would be the one to check the gun. There sure are a lot of people getting lawyers. Does AB have a lawyer?

 

[10ofRods]

With so many people saying they are not sure if the gun was checked before it was handed to AB, it would make since then, for the one and only person who would be the one to pull that trigger would be the one to check the gun. There sure are a lot of people getting lawyers. Does AB have a lawyer?

I'm sure he has a crisis team and one on retainer - but he may need to branch out to acquire a very good civil defense firm in California, where more suits are likely to be filed.

We should find out in the next couple of weeks who exactly is handling this first case.

 

[Gardenista]

As Alec Baldwin faces a lawsuit, all eyes are on the gun that killed Halyna Hutchins

Who checked the deadly Colt?
At some point after 1 p.m., the crew came back from eating lunch just a short drive away from the church set. What happened next depends on who you speak with.

According to the search warrant, Gutierrez Reed says prop master Zachary “pulled the firearms out of the safe and handed them to her.” With regard to the Colt involved in the deadly shooting, it was then handed to assistant director Halls.

Veteran Hollywood armorers say it is indeed standard procedure for a weapon to pass from an armorer to an assistant director and on to an actor, with the weapon being checked at every handoff.

Bowles says his client “spun the cylinder for Halls” and gave him the weapon. Halls told investigators that, typically, procedure on set would lead him to “check the barrel for obstructions, most of the time there’s no live fire, she (Hannah) opens the hatch and spins the drum and I say 'cold gun' on set.”

In this instance, Halls told police that when Gutierrez Reed gave him the Colt during rehearsal he only saw three rounds and “advised he should have checked them all, but didn’t, and couldn’t recall if she spun the drum.”

This conflicts with Gutierrez Reed's assertion that she had loaded six dummies into the Colt previously, and that she had spun the barrel for Halls.

Halls’ attorney, Lisa Torraco, told Fox News that checking a firearm is “not the assistant director’s job. If he chooses to check the firearm because he wants to make sure that everyone’s safe, he can do that, but that’s not his responsibility.”

Torraco also disputed that Halls was the one who handed Baldwin the weapon, contrasting what Halls himself told New Mexico authorities in his statement. Calls and emails to Lisa Torraco Law were not returned.

Director Souza told investigators that firearms were routinely checked by Gutierrez Reed as well as Halls.

When the cast and crew returned from lunch to the church set, they continued to rehearse while the crew set up the production’s lone camera after the other crew walked off. No video or audio was running.

Souza says he is not sure if the Colt was checked again before it was given to Baldwin. Cameraman Russell also told detectives that he had stepped out for five minutes, and when he returned the Colt was with Baldwin and he didn’t know if it had been checked.

At this point, Gutierrez Reed momentarily stepped outside of the church, according to her lawyer. What happened next went quickly:

Rehearsal, then a 'terrifying whoosh'

This article says:

These are so-called “dummy rounds” that visually look like the real thing, but produce only a puff of smoke and a kick-back, and do not fire any sort of projectile.

What are they talking about here? Is this a different type of dummy?

 

[GatorFL]

I am having trouble believing AB believes he is the one responsible for this "accident". When he handles a gun he thinks of it as "gun play". There were other things that should have happened before AB put his hands around that gun, but he pulled the trigger. I will be very surprised if anything happens with AB.

It will be a travesty of justice if nothing happens to him. He did not inspect a "cold gun" and he bears responsibility for that.

 

[GatorFL]

Yeah, I'll be very surprised if he faces any criminal charges, but also extremely surprised if he doesn't face civil liability and/or years of paying lawyers to combat the top notch contingency lawyers hired by his opponents.

A terrible series of events, with a mix of negligent (pulling the trigger) to...grossly negligent (putting a live round into a prop gun).

Was it you that threw out "industry standards" earlier? I can't remember but someone did in a prior thread. Alec Baldwin did not follow industry standards which was to inspect the gun. Grossly negligent.

 

[GatorFL]

This article says:

These are so-called “dummy rounds” that visually look like the real thing, but produce only a puff of smoke and a kick-back, and do not fire any sort of projectile.

What are they talking about here? Is this a different type of dummy?

Sounds like a writer who doesn't know what they are talking about.

Don't get red pilled by the media who wants to get their buddy AB off.

JMO.

 

[Cool Cats]

Sounds like a writer who doesn't know what they are talking about.

Don't get red pilled by the media who wants to get their buddy AB off.

JMO.

He will get off on any criminal charges because they can't prove intent. In fact, no criminal charges will be filed...2 Cents

The civil suits filed/to be filed are different matters with a different standard of guilt.

Civil Court – Civil cases have a much lower standard of guilt and only requires the plaintiff to prove the defendant acted negligently with a 51 percent degree of certainty. Understanding this difference can be critical to the development of your personal injury case.
What is the Standard of Guilt in Civil Cases? | Abel La…

 

[jsiar]

IMO the buck stops with HGR. It was literally her job to ensure this didn’t happen. However, I can’t get past AB not doing whatever it is he usually does on set before using a gun. He’s done this multiple times, he knows what is expected. Would a seasoned actor be so influenced by the reportedly slap dash on-set culture of this AD? I wouldn’t think so. Why did he do things differently on this film only?

 

[jjenny]

IMO the buck stops with HGR. It was literally her job to ensure this didn’t happen. However, I can’t get past AB not doing whatever it is he usually does on set before using a gun. He’s done this multiple times, he knows what is expected. Would a seasoned actor be so influenced by the reportedly slap dash on-set culture of this AD? I wouldn’t think so. Why did he do things differently on this film only?

I don't think he usually does anything on the set before using a gun that he didn't do in this case. It's not expected for the actor to unload the gun and inspect each round.

 

[jjenny]

This article says:

These are so-called “dummy rounds” that visually look like the real thing, but produce only a puff of smoke and a kick-back, and do not fire any sort of projectile.

What are they talking about here? Is this a different type of dummy?

What are you objecting to in the description of dummy rounds? They don't fire a projectile and don't make noise.

 

[Lux et Veritas]

IMO the buck stops with HGR. It was literally her job to ensure this didn’t happen. However, I can’t get past AB not doing whatever it is he usually does on set before using a gun. He’s done this multiple times, he knows what is expected. Would a seasoned actor be so influenced by the reportedly slap dash on-set culture of this AD? I wouldn’t think so. Why did he do things differently on this film only?

BBM

We have no idea if AB did things any differently. In his favor, he is a seasoned, veteran actor who is not a novice at using prop guns - all his previous firearms experiences occurred without incident ... even more in his favor.

HGR and DH are in real trouble.

JMO

 

[jjenny]

BBM

We have no idea if AB did things any differently. In his favor, he is a seasoned, veteran actor who is not a novice at using prop guns - all his previous firearms experiences occurred without incident ... even more in his favor.

HGR and DH are in real trouble.

JMO

Yea, cause normally a gun is actually checked before being given to an actor, and doesn't contain live ammunition.

 

[Cool Cats]

BBM

We have no idea if AB did things any differently. In his favor, he is a seasoned, veteran actor who is not a novice at using prop guns - all his previous firearms experiences occurred without incident ... even more in his favor.

HGR and DH are in real trouble.

JMO

Yea, cause normally a gun is actually checked before being given to an actor, and doesn't contain live ammunition.

Alec Baldwin said the deadly incident, which happened on a film set, was a "one in a trillion episode"

I believe he claimed the assistant director was at fault for telling him it was a cold gun. This seems to be, from his trillion statement, par for the course for him. Than an AD says it's cold and he has years of experience to not doubt it.

As an actor, even producer, I see no criminal liability at all for him. Civil is a different beast, especially because he did both - pulled the trigger and was producing the show.

Double Whammy

 

[Gardenista]

What are you objecting to in the description of dummy rounds? They don't fire a projectile and don't make noise.

They don't create recoil or emit smoke. Those that do would be blanks.

 

[grammieto5]

I think the lighting director said it perfectly, it was a sloppy approach to safety.