this post was submitted on 19 Jan 2024

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316

Alec Baldwin indicted for involuntary manslaughter in fatal gunfire on film set (www.theguardian.com)

submitted 2 years ago by MicroWave@lemmy.world to c/news@lemmy.world

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Grand jury in New Mexico charged the actor for a shooting on Rust set that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins

Actor Alec Baldwin is facing a new involuntary manslaughter charge over the 2021 fatal shooting of a cinematographer on the set of the movie Rust.

A Santa Fe, New Mexico, grand jury indicted Baldwin on Friday, months after prosecutors had dismissed the same criminal charge against him.

During an October 2021 rehearsal on the set of Rust, a western drama, Baldwin was pointing a gun at cinematographer Halyna Hutchins when it went off, fatally striking her and wounding Joel Souza, the film’s director.

Baldwin, a co-producer and star of the film, has said he did not pull the trigger, but pulled back the hammer of the gun before it fired.

Last April, special prosecutors dismissed the involuntary manslaughter charge against Baldwin, saying the firearm might have been modified prior to the shooting and malfunctioned and that forensic analysis was warranted. But in August, prosecutors said they were considering re-filing the charges after a new analysis of the weapon was completed.

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[+] Laticauda@lemmy.ca -18 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 children)

One of the biggest rules of gun safety is treat every gun as if it's loaded even when as far as you know it isn't. Regardless of how you think the ratio of culpability falls or who should be held legally accountable, he is at least partially responsible because he was the person holding the gun and aiming it at someone.

[–] chaogomu@kbin.social 32 points 2 years ago (1 children)

That's rule number one on the shooting range, It's not quite the same in film or on stage.

In those cases, actors have to trust their prop master or armorer.

Those are the people specifically hired to make sure the gun or the bullets are fake.

Baldwin was handed a gun, and specifically told that it was cold. The person handing it over even called out for the entire set that it was a cold weapon. The director then immediately called places. Because that's how it works.

But the gun was not cold.

Now, the person whose job it was to maintain those weapons was incompetent. Baldwin didn't hire her, he didn't hire anyone. He was one of 10 producers and mostly handled fundraising and script changes.

But he made fun of Trump a few times, and was involved in a gun death in a Trump friendly area. In California the armorer would be facing these charges, and would have faced them as soon as the initial investigation was over, not several years later.

[+] rottingleaf@lemmy.zip -15 points 2 years ago (2 children)

Baldwin was handed a gun, and specifically told that it was cold.

Source please? Everywhere I've read about this it was said that he took a gun to play with it. Not a part of any procedure.

Of course if it was like what you are describing, then I'm wrong.

[–] wahming@monyet.cc 14 points 2 years ago (1 children)

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rust_shooting_incident

Not sure where you got your series of events from

[–] rottingleaf@lemmy.zip 3 points 2 years ago (1 children)

The trio behind the monitor began repositioning the camera to remove a shadow, and Baldwin began explaining to the crew how he planned to draw the firearm.[10] He said, "So, I guess I'm gonna take this out, pull it, and go, 'Bang!'"[12] When he removed it from the holster, the revolver discharged a single time. Baldwin denied pulling the trigger of the gun, while ABC News described a later FBI report stating that the gun could only fire if the trigger was pulled.[41][42] Halls was quoted by his attorney Lisa Torraco as saying that Baldwin did not pull the trigger, and that Baldwin's finger was never within the trigger guard during the incident.[43] When the gun fired, the projectile traveled towards the three behind the monitor. It struck Hutchins in the chest, traveled through her body, and then hit Souza in the shoulder.[11][37][44] Script supervisor Mamie Mitchell called 9-1-1 at 1:46 p.m. PT and emergency crews appeared three minutes later.[12] Footage of the incident was not recorded.[34]

My memory changed it a bit, but thanks for your link, as the quoted part is what I was trying to remember.

[–] chaogomu@kbin.social 3 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Did you miss the part a bit earlier where it said he was handed a gun and told it was cold?

The fact that he was asking questions of the director about how he was going to draw and "fire" the gun is pointless, because everyone on set thought it was cold.

According to a search warrant, the guns were briefly checked by armorer Gutierrez-Reed, before assistant director Halls took the Pietta revolver from the prop cart and handed it to Baldwin.[38][39] In a subsequent affidavit, Halls said the safety protocol regarding this firearm was such that Halls would open the loading gate of the revolver and rotate the cylinder to expose the chambers so he could inspect them himself. According to the affidavit, Halls said he did not check all cylinder chambers, but he recalled seeing three rounds in the cylinder at the time. (After the shooting, Halls said in the affidavit, Gutierrez-Reed retrieved the weapon and opened it, and Halls said that he saw four rounds which were plainly blanks, and one which could have been the remaining shell of a discharged live round.)[40] In the warrant, it is further stated that Halls announced the term "cold gun", meaning that it was empty.[38] Halls's lawyer, Lisa Torraco, later sought to assert that he did not take the gun off the cart and hand it to Baldwin as reported, but when pressed by a reporter to be clear, she refused to repeat that assertion.[41]

[–] rottingleaf@lemmy.zip -1 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 children)

There are a lot of statements quoted. What I quoted was what I remembered reading. Anyway, the fact of what he actually did that was criminal is not being contested by anyone here, it's that it was criminal, as if responsibility for any action at all can be offloaded via documents signed. That'd be false.

[–] chaogomu@kbin.social 2 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Except that Baldwin really didn't do anything criminal, despite what you say.

There are a lot of court cases about this out of California and Georgia. Liability for the death is squarely on the armorer.

Unfortunately, this happened in a Trump friendly state, and the prosecutor wants to make a name for themselves by sticking it to the guy who made fun of Trump.

[–] rottingleaf@lemmy.zip 0 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Saying "bang" and waving a gun is what I call "criminal stupidity".

and the prosecutor wants to make a name for themselves by sticking it to the guy who made fun of Trump.

Everybody and their dog made fun of Trump.

[–] chaogomu@kbin.social 1 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Except he wasn't just waiving the gun around.

He's an actor, and he was practicing the movements necessary for the scene.

It's called rehearsal. It's normal.

He said bang, because that would have been the end of the scene. Man points a gun at the camera, says his lines, and then pulls the trigger.

You've seen that exact scene in dozens of films and TV shows.

[–] rottingleaf@lemmy.zip 1 points 2 years ago

OK, see my other comment a minute ago.

[–] Burn_The_Right@lemmy.world 3 points 2 years ago

The conservative media outlets have been spreading bullshit about this. They hate Baldwin for making fun of donnie diapers.