Alec Baldwin to be charged with involuntary manslaughter

[Harrysfrostbittentodger]

Prosecutors have announced they will file criminal charges against Hollywood star and producer Alec Baldwin following the death of Halyna Hutchins in 2021. The cinematographer died after a prop gun held by Baldwin was discharged during rehearsals for the western film Rust.

The film's armourer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who was responsible for weapons on set, is also facing the same charge over the fatal shooting, while assistant director David Halls has signed a plea agreement for the charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon.

Would you point it at someone, and pull the trigger, when specifically the rules are not to?

You wouldn't, right?

No of course I wouldn't.

Was he pointing it and firing as part of a scene or not part of a scene?

@MrsTerryPratchett

I may have this all wrong but if he was pointing it and firing as a scene then surely the person representing for the armoury / stunt director should have ensured it was safe for the purpose intended.

I read on a scurrilous gossip site that the reason the gun was loaded with a live round is that some of the people working on the film would blow off steam by doing target practise with the guns in between takes, and the armourer did not check the gun properly before she handed it over.

I don't know what the rules are for this around filming but as an actor i would expect that the proper safety regs had been followed so as not to hurt anyone.

Like I said I might have this all wrong.

You don't point a gun at anyone, at all, ever. Unless you want to do damage, obviously

The question though of how a live bullet got into that gun hasn't been answered at all as far as I can see.

Replicas are very good these days. Why wasn't a replica used with a bang? Why was a real gun used? Why was there even live ammunition on site? Who had access to that gun?

As a producer did he take all of the precautions and comply with the laws surrounding that.

Why do they need real guns anyway? Despite all of the special effects/realistic props we have now, can we still not get by without actual guns on set?

Was he pointing it and firing as part of a scene or not part of a scene?

That's irrelevant. You never ever point a gun at a person and pull the trigger. Not even in a film set!

Why are people trying to excuse Alec Baldwin's inexcusable and negligent behaviour?

The question though of how a live bullet got into that gun hasn't been answered at all as far as I can see.

That is irrelevant to the prosecution's case.

Alec should not have targeted and pulled the trigger on a person. That's negligent behaviour

After it happened, the press reported that the crew used the guns for target ppractice.

As producer, Baldwin would have known that and allowed it.
As armourer, the woman provided the guns and bullets for their target practice and then left a live round in a gun.

Baldwin also pulled the trigger whilst pointing the gun at a person. That alone makes him culpable as that is against the rules for guns on set.

My very limited experience of guns involves a visit I made to an armed police unit probably 2 decades ago.

I hated it and I remember one of the other people on our tour of the amourey of this force - which included showing us ridiculous shit that had been confiscated like AK47s - and myself ducking whenever the officer swung round with a new weapon.

Anyway, the think I remembered most vividly was the officer firing EVERY. SINGLE. WEAPON into some kind of bullet proof bucket on the wall (no idea what the technical term was) before bringing it anywhere near us.

There was not such thing as 'assuming' a weapon was empty. We could see that it was.

Exactly. Why was he shooting at the crew anyway?

Dickhead.

I admit I don't like him, his weird wife or the way they've chosen to be a family but screening all of that out - why was he pointing a gun at a crew member?

I do hope he goes to jail. I would if I'd have killed someone in my car being reckless.

I’ve read that the armorer wasn’t under contract as armorer at the time of the incident. She was employed as a prop assistant mostly, and was working in a different area when they were filming the take with Alec Baldwin. They also didn’t call her to re-check the gun before filming
I also read that staff members were using the guns for target practice in between takes, and there had been a few other misfires on set before this one.
I do think AB is mostly to blame for this (as producer but slightly less so as an actor) but I fully expect his lawyers to win and he’ll be convicted of a charge with a minor sentence.

*Anyway, the think I remembered most vividly was the officer firing EVERY. SINGLE. WEAPON into some kind of bullet proof bucket on the wall (no idea what the technical term was) before bringing it anywhere near us.

There was not such thing as 'assuming' a weapon was empty. We could see that it was.*

Exactly. Anything else is incredibly negligent and stupid!

but I fully expect his lawyers to win

On what ground can he possibly win?

It's simply negligent and against the rules to aim a gun at a person and pull the trigger...

One of the threads on Reddit contains what is said to be the HSE equivalent incident report

https://www.env.nm.gov/occupationalhealthh_safety/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2022/04/2022-04-19-NM-OSHA-Rust-Summary-of-Investigation.pdf

He was pointing the gun at the camera, the two people who got shot were behind the camera it seems, not excusing what he did, but it's not the case that he was deliberately pointing the gun at anyone.

You’re missing the point. He was not just an actor. He was in charge, it was his set. It was his job to ensure tight controls round this.

and for the poster who tried to argue he pointed at rhe camera not her, give me strength.

There are four rules of gun safety, and Alex Baldwin broke all of them:

• Treat all guns as though they are loaded
• Never put your finger on the trigger until you are ready to shoot
• Always keep your firearm pointed in a safe direction - i.e. never point it at anything you are not prepared to shoot
• Know your target and what is beyond it

He was pointing the gun at the camera, the two people who got shot were behind the camera

Well that's pointing the gun at people. He also pulled the trigger.

I find it really odd that they are continuing filming with Halyna’s husband as a producer.

www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-63149155.amp

Wow, so according to that report they only paid the armourer to be the armourer for 8 days. For the rest of the time she was the prop master assistant. She even told the prop master (who she reported to) that doing this would compromise safety with unattended guns and highlighted “that’s when mistakes happen”. But they kept insisting she focusing on her prop master assistant duties!

I’ll admit I’ve not read the whole report yet but if the accident happened after ‘day 8’ of her armourer duties, she really has been shafted, hasn’t she?

It's America and he's rich?

I mean I'm cynical.

We were brought up around guns. You never ever point them at people. Even today, kids with very obviously toy guns stress me out when they point them at people - I will never allow my kids to even have toy guns.