Alec Baldwin fired prop gun, killing 1 on movie set, Oct 2021 #3

[Mo Thuairim]

Hutchins had been advocating for safer conditions for her team and was tearful when the camera crew left, said one crew member who was on the set.

“She said, ‘I feel like I’m losing my best friends,’” recalled one of the workers.

'Rust' crew describes on-set gun safety issues and misfires days before fatal shooting

 

[coastal]

HERE WE GO:

Rust’ armorer attorneys blame producers for ‘unsafe’ set
By JAKE COYLEOctober 29, 2021


Attorneys for Hannah Gutierrez Reed, who was in charge of weapons on the movie set where Alec Baldwin fatally shot cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, say she doesn’t know where the live rounds found there came from, and blamed producers for unsafe working conditions.

Gutierrez Reed was the armorer on the set of “Rust.” The 24-year-old, who had worked on one previous feature film, hasn’t spoken publicly about the accident.

“Ultimately this set would never have been compromised if live ammo were not introduced,” said attorneys Jason Bowles and Robert Gorence in a statement. “Hannah has no idea where the live rounds came from. Hannah and the prop master gained control over the guns and she never witnessed anyone shoot live rounds with these guns and nor would she permit that.”

Investigators initially found 500 rounds of ammunition — a mix of blanks, dummy rounds and what appeared to be live rounds. Industry experts have said live rounds should never be on set.


'Rust' armorer attorneys blame producers for 'unsafe' set


So she is taking on the producers, including AB

How many rounds of ammunition found?! 5oo!? And "a mix of blanks, dummy rounds and what appeared to be live rounds"? I admit I've skipped some posts and MSM coverage, but what I have read makes Ms. Hutchins' death seem less like an accident and more like a murder, to me. I dont think AB intended to hurt or kill HH, but somebody mixed those live rounds in with the blanks and dummies, for some reason.

Question: who was the intended victim, in the film? IOW, who was AB's character supposed to be aiming at, per the storyline? If I were that actor, I'd be pretty nervous right now. MOO

 

[Antimony]

Does anyone know WHEN the gun was loaded for the rehearsal?
Who owned the fanny pack where the live rounds were discovered by LE?

 

[everybodhi]

How many rounds of ammunition found?! 5oo!? And "a mix of blanks, dummy rounds and what appeared to be live rounds"? I admit I've skipped some posts and MSM coverage, but what I have read makes Ms. Hutchins' death seem less like an accident and more like a murder, to me. I dont think AB intended to hurt or kill HH, but somebody mixed those live rounds in with the blanks and dummies, for some reason.

Question: who was the intended victim, in the film? IOW, who was AB's character supposed to be aiming at, per the storyline? If I were that actor, I'd be pretty nervous right now. MOO

Alec Baldwin Was Rehearsing Pointing Gun at Camera, Affidavit Says

Alec Baldwin was rehearsing a scene that involved pointing a revolver “towards the camera lens” when the gun — which the crew had been told did not contain live rounds — suddenly went off and killed the cinematographer, according to the film’s director, who was quoted in an affidavit released Sunday night.

Mr. Baldwin had been sitting in a wooden church pew, rehearsing a scene that involved “cross drawing” a revolver and pointing it at the camera lens, Mr. Souza said, according to the affidavit.

 

[GatorFL]

When a person is handing over a gun to you, even if that person is five feet from you, and you saw him check to make sure that there are no rounds in the chamber and hands it to you, you still check to make sure it's unloaded. That is number one in gun safety classes , and if you fail to check for yourself and you fire it, you bear the burden of killing another human being.

It wasn't a prop gun it was a gun used as prop. And it wasn't a "misfire". It was a deliberate act on AB part.

Regarding the bolded, I think you're confused about what the term "prop" means. It refers to property, which can be almost anything: a real, functioning object, a replica, or a recreation. The gun that was used WAS a prop.

Pretty good, recently updated wiki on a prop:

Theatrical property - Wikipedia

 

[Deleted member 158085]

He pointed a real gun at someone and it fired. That is a huge misstep on a film set.
He was not supposed to use a real weapon during rehearsal, was not supposed to accept the gun from anyone but the armorer, and not supposed to point it at anyone.

He did not need to get agreement from any other producers to know that was not proper safety protocol. He is a very experienced actor and understands the rules concerning firearms.

If there is a dangerous situation happening on a film set, a producer does not need to ask permission to call a safety meeting to correct the possibly fatal errors. It is not a matter of 'seeking agreement to make changes.' It is an urgent matter to see why a weapon with supposed blanks was actually a hot gun.

It does not matter if there are 6 production companies. Everyone of them wants to prevent a death during production. No one would have disagreed with trying to correct the problem.

I recommend going back and taking a peek at what @gitana1 wrote about this. His pointing a gun where he did was not a huge misstep. There are about 6 or 7 really good posts of hers that I recommend anyone who missed the first time around, go back and read.

 

[GatorFL]

I recommend going back and taking a peek at what @gitana1 wrote about this. His pointing a gun where he did was not a huge misstep. There are about 6 or 7 really good posts of hers that I recommend anyone who missed the first time around, go back and read.

I read her posts and disagree with some of what she said, because she sort of discounted industry standards, while basing her posts on those same standards. Same thing with Baldwin's impromptu roadside press conference where he said stricter standards are necessary to prevent "one in a trillion accidents" like this one.

The standard is clear, this is a direct quote from an article that @gitana1 herself posted and WAS NOT FOLLOWED, specifically the bolded: "The weapons master is required to be on set whenever a weapon is being used. The Actors’ Equity Association’s guidelines state that, “Before each use, make sure the gun has been test-fired off stage and then ask to test fire it yourself. Watch the prop master check the cylinders and barrel to be sure no foreign object or dummy bullet has become lodged inside.” Further, “All loading of firearms must be done by the property master, armorer or experienced persons working under their direct supervision.”

Also, the chain of custody was not followed. The assistant director (not the armorer or the prop master) picked the gun up off a cart and declared it cold and handed it to Baldwin.

Simple fact is, had Alec Baldwin followed the current industry standards this incident would not have happened.

 

[jjenny]

Well, AD described Rust's protocol and it was that AD was responsible for the safety check on the gun. The gun cart was left outside because of covid protocols. So Rust also had covid protocols going at the same time, whatever was in those. So it would appear to me AD was supposed to have done all those steps (watch the gun being loaded, test fire the gun and so on). By his own admission (I bet his lawyer is not happy with that) AD didn't do a thorough job of it.

 

[shotgun09]

I just watched the entire video from yesterday in Vermont. What a scene! The slithering, slimy and swarming media is out for blood! That is what sells...
That makes the headlines..

While my heart hurts for the poor kids and the Baldwin family as a whole, for having to witness this....It is what he...Alec Baldwin, has created. It is his image...And, sadly at this 'press conference' a different image is portrayed than what we as the viewing public are used to seeing. Yesterday, he wasn't the outspoken, cocky, often critical and angry tyrant we have seen. Now, he is damaged...it's clear to me. He is cautious and careful with his words, surely thinking before speaking on the advice of attorneys. It is not the AB that I am used to. And, the media/paparazzi wants the old Alec to show up. They want the headlines. They want the tyrant! They will keep looking and hounding. Hopefully AB will stop giving them opportunities, because so far it has not been going well for him.

All humbly IMO.

 

[DI_Isokawa]

Apologies for reposting this, but I would still like an opinion from someone who has had experience with this class of weapon:

----------------
One thing still puzzles me. In the affidavit for the search warrant, the director (Joel Souza) was interviewed:

Joel said he was looking over the shoulder of Halayna, [sic] when he heard what sounded like a whip and then loud pop.

It seems to me that the discharge of a .45 caliber round with a full powder load would make more noise than a "loud pop."

----------------

The only thing close in my personal experience was firing a M1911 in an indoor range in the military. Even with ear protection the sound was long way from "a whip and a loud pop." How do we explain this testimony, and the absence of others complaining that their ears were ringing? The person who made the 911 call did not seem to have any difficulty hearing.

 

[Arkay]

How many rounds of ammunition found?! 5oo!? And "a mix of blanks, dummy rounds and what appeared to be live rounds"? I admit I've skipped some posts and MSM coverage, but what I have read makes Ms. Hutchins' death seem less like an accident and more like a murder, to me. I dont think AB intended to hurt or kill HH, but somebody mixed those live rounds in with the blanks and dummies, for some reason.

Question: who was the intended victim, in the film? IOW, who was AB's character supposed to be aiming at, per the storyline? If I were that actor, I'd be pretty nervous right now. MOO

IMO I can't imagine this was a deliberate murder, or an attempted murder of someone other than Halyna that went wrong and she was killed instead.

It would have to be a conspiracy because there were so many broken links in the chain of custody for this to have happened.

Yes, someone did bring live rounds to the set. But so many things would have to go wrong for it to have ended as it did, and all of those people were intending to kill someone? I cannot see that at all.

I presume that the cast and crew who remained at this production were wanting the paycheck, or the resumé credits, after a year and a half of no work due to Covid.

A death on set is trouble for everyone, even besides the victims. And yes, Alec is and has always been a lightning rod for controversy and obstinacy, but IMO it’s far-fetched that he would risk prison to be part of a conspiracy to kill someone. Particularly as this production was likely a quick paycheck and he’d probably be finished with all these people in another week or two.

IMO a cluster of stupid ignorant lazy arrogant people, but not a deliberate murder as you suggest.

 

[Speculaytor]

Trying to catch up on the thread. So many asking how HGR wouldn't know there was live ammo on the set? I can understand if someone brought it on. I am curious to know what others on the set say about live ammo being or not being there?

If someone BROUGHT live ammo on to the set without anyone knowing, to shoot the gun offset, target practicing, then HGR and AD would not know there was live ammo. We don't know how, why, or who brought the ammo onto the set, or who knew it was on the set. So, who brought the ammo, who was target shooting with that gun, and was the gun handled by anyone other than HGR after she handed it to the person who put it in the safe in the morning, during lunch?

 

[Gardenista]

Apologies for reposting this, but I would still like an opinion from someone who has had experience with this class of weapon:

----------------
One thing still puzzles me. In the affidavit for the search warrant, the director (Joel Souza) was interviewed:

Joel said he was looking over the shoulder of Halayna, [sic] when he heard what sounded like a whip and then loud pop.

It seems to me that the discharge of a .45 caliber round with a full powder load would make more noise than a "loud pop."

----------------

The only thing close in my personal experience was firing a M1911 in an indoor range in the military. Even with ear protection the sound was long way from "a whip and a loud pop." How do we explain this testimony, and the absence of others complaining that their ears were ringing? The person who made the 911 call did not seem to have any difficulty hearing.

It was a great question and something I've been wondering too.

 

[Mo Thuairim]

It was a great question and something I've been wondering too.

It was loud enough for the medic to hear from wherever her position was on set.

‘Are We Rehearsing?’ On-Set Medic Recounts Devastating Details In Fatal Shooting Of ‘Rust’ Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins | Oxygen Official Site

Cherlyn Schaefer had been working as the film’s medic on duty when she heard a “loud shot” near a church building where the crew had been setting up a scene after a lunch break, according to a report reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.

“Are we rehearsing? Because ‘fire in the hole’ wasn’t called,” Schaefer recounted in the report.

 

[Deleted member 39678]

I recommend going back and taking a peek at what @gitana1 wrote about this. His pointing a gun where he did was not a huge misstep. There are about 6 or 7 really good posts of hers that I recommend anyone who missed the first time around, go back and read.

Alec Baldwin pointing the gun at the victims was a huge misstep IMO. If he really wanted to point the gun at the camera he should have insisted on using a remote camera. JMO. This is from a link gitana1 provided.

“We’ve all seen the very famous shots in films where you get that dramatic effect of a gun being pointed at you, the audience, and of course, it’s being pointed towards the camera,” “To minimize that, one would put a remote camera in that place,

EXPLAINER: Guns on movie sets: How does that work?

 

[happyday]

How many rounds of ammunition found?! 5oo!? And "a mix of blanks, dummy rounds and what appeared to be live rounds"? I admit I've skipped some posts and MSM coverage, but what I have read makes Ms. Hutchins' death seem less like an accident and more like a murder, to me. I dont think AB intended to hurt or kill HH, but somebody mixed those live rounds in with the blanks and dummies, for some reason.

Question: who was the intended victim, in the film? IOW, who was AB's character supposed to be aiming at, per the storyline? If I were that actor, I'd be pretty nervous right now. MOO

Reallllllly starting to feel this way too! Could be somebody didn’t even have an actual intended victim. Maybe somebody just wanted to cause chaos on set, even a death. Anyone would do?

 

[Gardenista]

If you go to YouTube and search Pietta 1873 45Colt there is a video of a guy shooting (there are actually quite a few videos where someone is shooting this gun.) I'm particularly interested in what it sounds like when it is shot indoors, and from what I've seen, it does not sound like a whip and a pop, it sound like a regular very loud gun.

 

[Gardenista]

The day Alec Baldwin shot Halyna Hutchins and Joel Souza

This report is is based on interviews with 14 “Rust” crew members, including nine who were at Bonanza Creek Ranch the day Hutchins was shot, records from Santa Fe County, Santa Fe film permits and emails, text messages and internal communications from the “Rust” production. It is the most comprehensive account to date of a day that ended in tragedy, and raised concerns about the decisions made regarding safety on the set. Already, there have been calls for new laws and regulations regarding the handling of firearms on sets.

 

[jjenny]

Trying to catch up on the thread. So many asking how HGR wouldn't know there was live ammo on the set? I can understand if someone brought it on. I am curious to know what others on the set say about live ammo being or not being there?

If someone BROUGHT live ammo on to the set without anyone knowing, to shoot the gun offset, target practicing, then HGR and AD would not know there was live ammo. We don't know how, why, or who brought the ammo onto the set, or who knew it was on the set. So, who brought the ammo, who was target shooting with that gun, and was the gun handled by anyone other than HGR after she handed it to the person who put it in the safe in the morning, during lunch?

It's an armorer's job to know what ammo is on the set. If somebody brought it onto the set, the armorer should take notice. They also shouldn't leave ammo un-attended.

 

[jjenny]

Apologies for reposting this, but I would still like an opinion from someone who has had experience with this class of weapon:

----------------
One thing still puzzles me. In the affidavit for the search warrant, the director (Joel Souza) was interviewed:

Joel said he was looking over the shoulder of Halayna, [sic] when he heard what sounded like a whip and then loud pop.

It seems to me that the discharge of a .45 caliber round with a full powder load would make more noise than a "loud pop."

----------------

The only thing close in my personal experience was firing a M1911 in an indoor range in the military. Even with ear protection the sound was long way from "a whip and a loud pop." How do we explain this testimony, and the absence of others complaining that their ears were ringing? The person who made the 911 call did not seem to have any difficulty hearing.

He was shot. I presume that means in shock.