(ANI): The prop gun discharged by Alec Baldwin was reportedly used recreationally, prior to the death of Halyna Hutchins on the New Mexico set.
As per People magazine, the gun that shot and killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injured director Joel Souza on the sets of ‘Rust’ was previously used by crew members for target practice.
Sources connected to the production revealed that the prop gun had been used recreationally for target practice away from the set prior to the deadly shooting.
On Thursday, authorities responded to an incident at the New Mexico set of ‘Rust’ around 1:50 pm local time following 911 calls indicating “an individual had been shot on set,” the Santa Fe Sheriff’s Department wrote in a press release obtained by PEOPLE.
Upon further investigation, the sheriff’s department learned that Hutchins, 42, and Souza, 48, were “shot when a prop firearm was discharged” by Baldwin, 63, during a camera test.
Hutchins was airlifted to the University of New Mexico Hospital where she died from her injuries, according to the sheriff’s department. Souza was hospitalised, but he has since been released.
On Friday, the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) Local 44, a union for propmasters, sent an email out to its members stating that the gun contained “a live round”.
The IATSE Local 44 email contradicted an earlier report that the gun Baldwin was using on set contained blanks.
In the wake of the tragedy, a source told People magazine that Baldwin was “hysterical and absolutely inconsolable for hours” following the shooting: “Everyone knows this was an accident, but he’s absolutely devastated.”
A source also told People magazine that the actor “is still trying to get his head around everything that happened. This has been devastating. It’s been incredibly difficult.”
Baldwin first spoke out regarding the incident on Friday morning, issuing a two-part statement on Twitter.
“There are no words to convey my shock and sadness regarding the tragic accident that took the life of Halyna Hutchins, a wife, mother and deeply admired colleague of ours,” the actor began.
“I’m fully cooperating with the police investigation to address how this tragedy occurred and I am in touch with her husband, offering my support to him and his family,” he continued. “My heart is broken for her husband, their son, and all who knew and loved Halyna.”
The ‘Rust’ film set has been shut down and production indefinitely paused following Hutchins’ death, according to the production company, Rust Movie Productions, LLC.
“The entire cast and crew has been absolutely devastated by today’s tragedy, and we send our deepest condolences to Halyna’s family and loved ones,” the company said in a statement on Thursday.
“We have halted production on the film for an undetermined period of time and are fully cooperating with the Santa Fe Police Department’s investigation. We will be providing counselling services to everyone connected to the film as we work to process this awful event.” (ANI)
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All should be charged with manslaughter at the minimum. All actors need to take gun safety courses even if they are anti-gun. Alec????
The set crew’s target practice was probably at a picture of Baldwin, who had been ragging at everyone and everything that moved. Really not a smart-Alec, Baldwin gets hysterical and absolutely inconsolable for hours by just mentioning the name of his ex-wife or Donald Trump. His shoot from the hip mouth has been a loose cannon just waiting to go off again for years ,and now you can add in his rusty trigger finger. If this guy does not belong on the no gun ownership list in every state, then obviously the Clintons need someone else to go away for an Arkansas Dirt bath. Definitely banned from holding public office. If “Saturday night live” keeps him for more Trump imitations, their ratings should crater even more than they do now. Don’t remember the Donald ever shooting anyone, although he had lots of valid reasons to.
Mike, i have long felt, that if WE NORMAL FOLK have to go through X many hours of gun courses, to get “qualified” to carry, THEN SO DAMN WELL SHOULD every actor who uses firearms in their films…
So…
Can “The Media” STOP referring to the gun as a “Prop Gun”?
It was a REAL gun (as is usually the case for filming).
The only thing that differentiates it from a DANGEROUS weapon, is the (intended) use of BLANKS (rather than live rounds)!
CLEARLY, neither the person responsible for controlling the “props” nor Alec Baldwin have ANY business touching ANY weapons!
I’m reminded of the old saying (when I was a reckless teenager): Ban LOW PERFORMANCE DRIVERS, not HIG PERFORMANCE CARS!
The SAME should be true for gun ownership/possession!
EVEN for shooting BLANKS, you damn well should know what a gun IS, and how to use it PROPERLY!
If you’re unwilling (or unable) to get properly trained, then give the STUPID ACTOR a piece of plastic, and have their expensive CGI team replace it with a gun (and the fake blast)!
IDIOTS should come NO WHERE NEAR ANY GUNS!
The thing is this is not the first time this has happened to alec baldwin the same thing happened several years ago, one of the other actors was voting republican and alec shot him as well.
That is why i hate that modern cars, all have so many damn safety features.. GONE IS THE DAY OF PEOPLE ACTUALLY LEARNING how to be good drivers, now we have folks only TRUSTING in their vehicle’s safety features.
Calling it a “Prop Gun” is the flip side of that other major misnomer, the “Assault Weapon.” It’s almost certain more assaults have been committed with the equivalent of Baldwin’s “Prop Gun” than with the weapons the left wants banned.
You can take that to the bank. I forgot where i saw it, back in 2014-15 time frame, but a study done on the most common weapon used in drive by’s and gangland shootings, 83% of the time it was a simple 9mm PISTOL! Only 2% of the time was it with a fully auto rifle….
In the 1980s an actor unintentionally killed himself on set with a gun loaded with blanks. He thought it would be funny if he shot himself in the temple point blank with a blank. At literally point blank range, there is sufficient energy in the blast discharge to rupture an artery causing a hemorrhage, which is what happened and killed him. A pre-med friend at the time explained to me that such a hemorrhage causes the brain to be crushed.
Sure, the prop handlers shouldn’t have left a live round in the gun. But it sounds like Baldwin played around with the gun and discharging it thinking he is cute. A basic rule of gun safety is always to treat the gun as if it is loaded even when you KNOW it isn’t. It seems every accidental shooting you hear on the news is from “I didn’t know it was loaded” cases.
THat is why to me, there is NO SUCH THING as an ‘accidental discharge’.. THERE IS ONLY NEGLIGENT DISCHARGES!
if he had been shooting at himself, would he have checked to see if it was loaded?
Not sure.. Maybe we should hand him a gun and see..
Frankly I am surprised this son of Satan would actually step foot into a Church even in a film, but knowing that he did he would have to have been sent on a mission of some kind of destruction., Am i the olny person this guy has creeped out for years?
I really wish they would just stop saying that the gun did the murder and put the blame where it belongs with alec baldwin he is the one that pulled the trigger, guns are not able to pull the trigger that takes a hahaha person even someone as stupid as baldwin. As for the weapon being use prior to this for target practice the weapon should have been cleared and confirmed unloaded before anyone else touched it. This whole thing smells of not only cover up but 100% pure negligence on the part of baldwin and the armorer, this was just a hair shy of intentional, at the very least alec baldwin should face manslaughter and the armorer should face negligent manslaughter along with misuse of a studio weapon. Everyone involved should be facing at least ten years in prison.
That’s what leftists do.. BLAME the item, NOT THE USER Of the item…
What idiot would let live ammo within a mile of the movie set? The little round bar welded in the barrel could have prevented this, unless they are shooting to close with blank shells.
Yup. A “Prop Building” is often just a front, not a real building. Prop whiskey isn’t alcohol, and the prop bottle and prop furniture that gets broken over someone’s head is carefully designed to avoid hurting someone. When the bad guy gets tossed through the prop window, it’s fake glass with purposely weak frames. So why must a “prop gun” be just a misleading way to say “real gun we hope nobody gets hurt with”?
Because its YET another word the left’s bastardized…
No one should hire people this stupid. Baldwin must also be an idiot. If I was to have a scene where I point a gun at someone and pull the trigger I would check it again myself. It’s not a toy .So sad a person is dead because off some stupid morons playing with guns.
The assistant director handed the gun to Baldwin and called out “COLD GUN!” indicating that the gun was unloaded.
Obviously he had not even checked.
This is why it is NOT LEGAL to have live ammo on a film set. Rules as for the rubes.
IF ITS Not legal to have live ammo on set, HOW COULD the crew, have used that gun (and others) for shooting practice???
Illegally?