Alec Baldwin shoots prop gun, killing 1, injuring another on set of 'Rust,' New Mexico officials say
Category: News & Politics
Via: perrie-halpern • 3 years ago • 66 commentsBy: Phil Helsel, Samantha Kubota and Diana Dasrath
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Producer and actor Alec Baldwin fired a prop gun that killed a woman and injured a man on the set of the movie "Rust" in New Mexico on Thursday, Santa Fe County sheriff's office said.
A distraught Alec Baldwin takes a call in the parking lot outside the Santa Fe County Sheriff's offices after being questioned Thursday. Jim Weber / The New Mexican
The film's director of photography, Halyna Hutchins, 42, was killed, and Joel Souza, 48, was injured when Baldwin, 63, discharged a prop firearm, the sheriff's office said in a statement Thursday evening.
Souza was taken to the hospital by ambulance and was receiving emergency care, officials said.
"There was an accident today on the New Mexico set of Rust involving the misfire of a prop gun with blanks," a spokesperson for Baldwin said in a statement. "Production has been halted for the time being. The safety of our cast and crew remains our top priority."
Director of Photography Halyna Hutchins was killed and director Joel Souza was injured on set while filming the movie "Rust" in Santa Fe, N.M., on Oct. 21, 2021.Fred Hayes / Getty Images for SAGindie fileJoel Souza attends the Crown Vic screening at Village East Cinema, in New York, on Nov. 6, 2019.Ron Adar / Sipa USA via AP file
A representative for Baldwin declined to comment further.
Hutchins' representative declined to comment. She was flown by helicopter to University of New Mexico Hospital where she was pronounced dead, the sheriff's office said.
No charges have been filed, the sheriff's office said, adding that the investigation is ongoing. Sheriff's deputies were dispatched around 1:50 p.m. local time (3:50 p.m. ET) after a 911 call about a shooting on the set, the office said.
Bonanza Creek Ranch is often used for Western productions. Aerial video from NBC affiliate KOB of Albuquerque showed an old church that appeared to be blocked off.
The film centers on a 13-year-old boy who goes on the run with his estranged grandfather after he is sentenced to hang for the accidental killing of a rancher in the 1880s, according to the movie's logline.
Alec Baldwin appears to break down with grief outside Santa Fe County Sheriff's offices after being questioned on Thursday. Jim Weber / The New Mexican
How the deadly accident Thursday in New Mexico occurred was not entirely clear.
In 1993, "The Crow" actor Brandon Lee died in a filming accident after he was shot with a prop gun. The son of martial-arts film icon Bruce Lee was 28.
In 1984, actor Jon-Erik Hexum died after shooting himself in the head with a gun loaded with blank and empty cartridges on the set of the "Cover Up" TV series, UPI reported at the time.
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Mr. Anti-gun Baldwin is going to have a difficult time reconciling killing someone with one of the weapons he would deny to the average person. As Hollywood continues to glorify and make millions of dollars from the casual use of guns, Mr. Baldwin would appear to be dumber than any of the dumbass redneck backwoods hillbillys he deplores. He alone pulled the trigger.
I know you think you are making some sort of anti-liberal point but your comment makes very little sense.
The person responsible would be the one who prepared the "prop" gun for use by the actors.
If a roller coaster malfunctions and a rider is killed , the blame doesnt fall on the person who pushed the button to start the ride, it falls on the mechanics whose job it is to make sure the ride is operating safely and the inspectors.
How was that person to know the strength of the load and that the packing inside would actually do harm? As well as how it was to be used and at what range? They had one job. Load the gun with the bullets provided. It goes farther than the prop guy.
Makes no sense whatsoever and what else is new?
Have you ever heard the old adage never point a gun at anyone? Now you know why.
Even a prop gun can be dangerous.
“The person responsible would be the one who prepared the "prop" gun for use by the actors.”
You’re the one making the political, liberal point - that it was someone else’s fault. As for your analogy, a rider is buying perfection - a professional actor can be presumed competent.
I assume actors take it for granted that when they are handed equipment on the set by the technical staff it is safe to use.
Your assertion that it was the actors responsibility to make sure the prop gun was safe to use sounds bizarre. If they gave Baldwin a jeep to drive is it his responsibility to make sure the vehicle wont malfunction and veer off and run over a bystander?
I think you are way off track on this.
Blanks can kill if fired at close range as in the cases of Jon Hexum and Brandon Lee. This story has just come out so many details are yet to be disclosed. I just hope that Mr. Baldwin will receive psychological counseling as he is to be sure to develop PTSD due to this.
What a horrible horrible comment to make after such a tragedy. You apparently have no empathy for anyone except yourself.
Evidently, it’s Hollywood that doesn’t care about the cost since they are playing with weapons they don’t understand. To the entertainment business, this is just another OSHA recordable.
There have been thousands of movies made with gunfire. And many of them have close up scenes of shootings. You sound like this is the first time a prop gun has been used in a movie.
There's just too much info missing from the article to completely understand what happened. All we know is it wasn't an actor that was killed, it was a director of photography that was killed and a director who was injured. We don't know how the gun in question was supposed to be used, if it was for a close-up shot or a distance shot. Was Baldwin just horsing around with the gun.
Needless to say, Baldwin will have to live with his actions for the rest of his life. I just hope that he learns grace and is able to forgive himself. I also hope this tempers his choice to blame the gun and accept that the person holding the gun has more responsibility in the act.
What is your evidence Baldwin misused a gun that was supposed to be harmless?
You say that we dont know what happened , but in the next breath say you hope Baldwin can forgive himself. For what?
Hence the word 'WAS' in the sentence. I didn't state that he was. Take the entire post into view, the article is missing so much information that we just don't know what happened other than one person is dead, one person is injured and Baldwin pulled the trigger of a prop gun. That's all we know.
For what???? umm, maybe because he was the one holding the gun that killed a person. Do you not think that even though it was an accident that it's not going to haunt him and have a big impact on his mental well-being?
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Betcha Baldwin is a Dem, otherwise why is he being defended so heavily??
We have a homicide here. Alec Baldwin should be arrested and charged with a crime.
What FACTS about this case lead you to that conclusion?
I dont think many facts have been released yet.
Used to be a stuntman in a Colorado tourist town.
I and my friends shot each other and fell from 10 to 30ft three times a day.
Before every show we passed each other's guns around and checked the loads.
It was a ritual where we wished each other a safe show.
Bad Bart would say "I'm tired of that Sheriff. I want to fix his wagon!"
My line was "I didn't even know the sheriff had a wagon and why would we want to fix it for him anyway"? We hate the sheriff don't we?
(I was the dumb guy in this outlaw gang).
Bad Bart would hit me around my head and shoulders with his cowboy hat a few times during the show. Bad Bart was actually my boss where I was his doorman/bouncer. It was all for show.
Can think of a few different ways this sort of shit could happen.
Pretty sure that 9 times out of 10 it is murder/suicide out of jealousy or excess.
Had a bad vacation with a lady in Key West once. Almost took off and left her.
That is one hell of a blank packing if it killed someone close range or not. I see a big ass law suit coming for the production company as well and the manufacturer of the blanks used.
How can a blank kill anyone. Would it not be no more lethal than a kid's cap gun. Could someone have substituted real bullets for the blanks, or switched guns?
From what i heard earlier, it was basically a point blank shot which still makes one wonder what the hell kind of bullet did the manufacturer/seller provide the prop department.
See post 1.1.3
Even blanks can be lethal at close range.
I can't open Newsweek. Does something project from the gun?
A blank cartridge is like a normal cartridge except it doesn't have the bullet. But there can still be the wadding which is used to prevent the gun powder from spilling out. When the cartridge is fired, you get the bang like a normal bullet. And the wadding will be "shot" out of the gun. At close range that wadding can be deadly. Several actors have been killed in the past from blanks.
Thanks Snuffy. That link provided a good explanation. I wonder why they don't seal off the end of the bullet with a thin bit of plastic instead of a wad. That would prevent the gunpowder from leaking out, and would probably tear rather than be projected.
Not to mention just the concussive force created by the "blank".
Nowadays, many close in gunshots (i.e. gun against the head), are done by CGI because they are very dangerous and have to be handled differently. Unfortunately older movies like The Crow, and lower budget movies do not always have that option.
True. This isn't even the first time this has happened. Several years ago out here in my neck of the woods. A father was teaching his son how to shoot a low powered BB-gun. Kid dropped the gun, it discharged hitting the dad in the head, killing him.
It's not always about how powerful a gun is, but the location of the impact.
Prop guns shoot, "blanks", which still has powder and a small discharge.
Lots of people pointing fingers here and all over the internet but, (as much as I am NOT a fan of Baldwin), in this case, it really wasn't all his fault. I would say blame lies in large part with the safety officer and the head of the props department.
It's 2021, they can CGI lightsabers and epic gun battles without the use of prop guns that shoot blanks. Why it was used in this case, (or in ANY case), really doesn't make sense to me.
To me this is obvious.
If a prop gun has any potential for harm then it should not be used.
Period. Never use prop guns that can deliver harmful projectiles. Use a different method. As you note, we have the technology to do so.
The wadding is usually just a tiny piece of cotton to hold the powder close to the cap. The blanks I have shot all had the end covered with a thin piece of copper. It sounds dangerous but that little piece of flat copper loses all of its inertia in about 10 feet because it doesn't weigh anything and, there is very little powder to propel it.
100% agree !
People should read up on the death of Brandon Lee, son of Bruce Lee. He died in much the same manner by a point blank shot to the chest by a blank firing prop pistol.
Remember the crimped 5.56 mm blank rounds for the M-16 rifle? In my Corpsman days I treated plenty of training injuries from Marines being too close to a fired blank.
if i remember right , the gun was used in a prior scene with dumdums , and was fired and a projectile was lodged in the barrel , for the next scene it was loaded with a blank , there is still contoversy over the internet over whether that scene is still actually in the movie or not . i do know the actor that fired the gun , never got over it .
Blanks can kill if fired at close range as I stated in my earlier comment. In the case of Hexum, he was playing what he thought was a fake game of Russian Roullette and held the gun to his temple. When I managed a gun range, I was the safety officer on a couple of shoots and although they had firearm experts, I would insist on double checking every firearm used. I actually got grazed on the leg with a blank from a wild shot. It was not a major wound, but it stung like hell.
Blanks can be lethal at close range. The vast majority of actors are trained with them.
Well, that just sucks. Condolences to all involved.
This is not the first tine this has happened and killed someone. Remember Brandon Lee, Bruce Lee's son.
Similar for sure, the difference being that Lee was shot with an actual bullet.
Seems that Brandon was shot for a reason. No accident.
Brandon paid for his father's sins.
Bob Marley was a friend. So glad I avoided his war.
The first question would be, where they using blank rounds or squib rounds? Next would be where they got the rounds and who was the fire safety person?
Two good questions that am sure will be the first few asked by the investigators.
Fuck ups like this don't just "happen" for security agencies.
I looked a t a twitter thread about this. Apparently there is some belief that Baldwin was "horsing around" with the fake gun and pointed it at people beyond what was called for in the script.
What we see on twitter is the right wingers saying he should be charged with manslaughter and the liberals saying he is not at fault for what was in the gun.
I am off this article until more information is released about what happened.
Have been onset in/on a few movies. It's all on the prop guy.
What a terrible tragedy.
Since he managed to hurt two camera people, it sounds like it was one of those shots where they have a close up on the barrel as it is being fired. This obviously necessitates pointing the weapon directly at the camera and firing.
I think when they do a shot like that, there is supposed to be a protective screen between the gun and the camera, and the operators. I think we will be waiting on the police investigation to find out what happened. Calling it a “misfire” isn’t really informative.
If anyone is curious about the previous gun deaths, Lee and Hexum died in different ways from different types of prop ammunition. Keep in mind, these are real guns and real ammo, but the ammo is modified in a few different ways.
Dummy rounds: Look like normal ammo but have the gun powder removed
Blanks: Have the projectile removed, but retain the explosive gun powder as well as wadding (behind the charge) and a plug (in front of the charge). The gas or gas and plug exiting the barrel can be fatal at close range.
Lee was injured while shooting a scene in a bizarre, freak accident that involved a combination of both types of modified ammunition - dummies and blanks. The gun that killed him had first been loaded with a dummy. The movies use dummy loads to show the ammo. On screen, you see the cartridge with the bullet (for example, being loaded) so it looks normal. Unfortunately, even though the weapon handlers on the set of The Crow had removed the powder, they failed to also remove the primer (a much weaker charge) from the cartridge and that was enough to dislodge the bullet from the cartridge but not enough to propel it out of the barrel.
Later the same gun (with the bullet in the barrel) was loaded with blanks. Blanks don’t have a projectile, but they do have gun powder. Apparently, no one checked the barrel of the gun to make sure it was clear. So, when the blank was fired, it propelled the squib load out of the gun and into Brandon Lee. Negligence, yes, but still a crazy, freak chain of circumstances.
Hexum was injured when he was clowning around between takes. His gun was loaded with blanks (so no projectile) but he put the barrel to his head an pulled the trigger. The resulting explosive force and plug - at point blank range - damaged his skull and he later died from the injury.
Have studied JKD for many years and have heard these stories.
Brandon was assassinated just like his father was.
just another reason to treat any gun , prop , real or fake , as a real and loaded gun everytime its picked up.
Gun Alec Baldwin Fired on Rust Set Contained 'Live Round,' Prop Masters Union Says (msn.com)
Interesting. Thanks for the update. I'd like to know - how does this spokesperson for the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) Local 44 know what was in the gun if they weren't involved? I'm not saying that's not true, but if they weren't there -
Then how do they know? Who loaded the firearm?
It's my understanding that both state and federal law any prop master working on films has to have proper licensing to handle fire arms on sets. Did they have those? There is also supposed to be a safety officer double checking these things. Where was that person and what were they doing?
I'm not sure. If true, I would imagine that union management contacted the set manager to find out if any of there members were on set? I don't discount it yet as it seems a more likely explanation in my opinion.
Local 44 is playing armchair quarterback to cover their own asses in case the shit that will hit the fan does not get on them,
Since many of the people who were on set belong to this union they probably talked with people who were present. If it was a live round then it may have passed though the first victim and hit the second and if that happened and you witnessed it you don't need an expert to tell you it was a real bullet.
"Because we don't know when we will die, we get to think of life as an inexhaustible well. And yet everything happens only a certain number of times, and a very small number really. How many more times will you remember a certain afternoon of your childhood, an afternoon that is so deeply a part of your being that you can't even conceive of your life without it? Perhaps four, or five times more? Perhaps not even that. How many more times will you watch the full moon rise? Perhaps twenty. And yet it all seems limitless..." - passage from Paul Bowles' book The Sheltering Sky inscribed on Brandon Lee's tombstone.
Sorry but Baldwin is an asshole and I bet it was him fucking around on set.
Just not enough information here , but even as someone that is pro gun control as mr baldwin has been let be known , i would think that person would even as an actor , familiarize themselves with safe handling of firearms , and the firearms themselves if in the course of their profession they have to handle them .
To me that is just one more step in safety , even if there is an armourer and a gun safety person suppose to be on set when guns are present .
At this point i doubt anyone can say who is at fault here because of a lack of credible information.
The latest that I could find on the shooting.
“Cold gun,” the assistant director announced, according to a search warrant filed in a Santa Fe court.
Instead, the gun was loaded with live rounds,
Somebody will never work in this town again.
apparently they don’t know the first 2 firearms safety rules