Alec Baldwin to be charged in ‘Rust’ shooting

Alec Baldwin, the actor who fatally shot cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during a rehearsal for the Western movie "Rust" in 2021, will be charged with involuntary manslaughter prosecutors said. #CNN #News

58 comments

  1. The first thing my Dad taught me regarding guns… you never ever point a gun at someone, loaded or not!
    I’ve edited my comment so that people can better understand it… of course I know this situation different, but, the last person to handle the firearm should be educated for safety, their own & the people around them.
    HAGD all!

    1. The person who was in charge of the props should be also charged. They said the gun was safe. Me Baldwin wasn’t aiming at the woman, he was aiming at the camera for a scene. He was lead to believe the gun was safe. The last person to handle the gun before handing it to Mr Baldwin should be charged.

    2. @ButterfatFarms  ya, you’re awfully upset about something that doesn’t effect you in the slightest and particularly towards me. This seems wildly strange to me as I stated VERY clearly that I didn’t have a deep understanding of the entire situation and its nuances but that on its face it doesn’t appear to be justice at all. If it was truly such a obviously case of manslaughter (and most are fairly obvious because it takes a special kind of neglect to rise to such a place. Typically the law is phrased something to the effect of that it would have been obvious to a resonable person that the danger was such that the outcome was likely to cause serious bodily harm or death. That’s not just any kind of negligent that a special kind. That’s you knew that someone was likely to be hurt badly or die and still did it anyway.) Even if EVERYTHING your saying is true (and I don’t know that it is or isn’t) it would still be very hard in a court of law to prove he knew or should have known that someone would be seriously hurt or die from his actions.
      I was also pretty clear that I don’t think he deserves to walk away Scott free either. Just that on its face with the information in this video and a few others I’ve seen it doesn’t appear to be a good charge and it doesn’t appear to be anything more then a bunch of pressure put on them to give him serious charges that people can feel warm and fuzzy about.

    3. @lindseyxo as in “who put the live rounds in a dummy box” I’d like to know.. I’m getting a sinister vibe going!

    1. And the only who knew were the ones who brought them and loaded them in the gun. It wasn’t Alec Baldwin. Some one working props.

    2. @Den Van And it had proven so unsafe on set, several accidental blank discharges, live ammunition turning up on set, them using the gun for plinking ffs, that some crew had already quit.

      “A crew member on the movie set of “Rust” talked to “Good Morning America” about his safety concerns on that set.

      Lane Luper, formerly first camera assistant on the film, had quit and left the production the day before the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.

      Hours before Hutchins was shot by actor Alec Baldwin on set, Luper and half a dozen other members of the camera department walked off the set in protest of poor working conditions.

      “What I put in my resignation letter was: lax COVID policies, the housing situation — driving to and from Albuquerque — and specifically gun safety, a lack of rehearsals, a lack of preparing the crew for what we were doing that day,” Luper told ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos.”

      “Luper claims that there were very few safety meetings and that complaints about safety were ignored. He said safety bulletins, which are manuals for how to run a safe set, were ignored and not attached to call sheets.”

    3. @Ronnie Bishop It’s like you’re trying to convince us of how ignorantly wrong you can be. It’s working.

  2. More than 25 live rounds on the set alone! That’s incompetence. There’s a lot of people in the wrong here including Alex and the armourer. So sad for Halnyas family.

    1. That doesn’t really mean anything, you can use live rounds for a movie as well just not shooting at people obviously right? It’s the armorers / prop masters fault

    1. With a criminal conviction, Baldwin won’t be able to get bonded to make another movie. Who is going to ensure an actor who shot and killed a woman, claims he isn’t responsible and feels no guilt?

    1. @Mk101T Baldwin is responsible for having pointed the firearm add another person )Course S of Contracts and services) and not checking the revolver to make sure it was safe (the Screen actors Guild Safety Bulletin page 4 paragraph 1) and disregarding the Armorer specific instructions to never point a firearm, add another person. That’s why Alec Baldwin has been charged with involuntary manslaughter.

    2. @Mk101T there are movie industry, safety protocols to avoid exactly what happened in the wrongful death of Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. A firearm is never to be pointed directly at another person on camera in a scene (Course S of Contracts and services). The fire arm is to be aimed slightly to the side of the person; in the rare event that alive round might be fired from the weapon, it will not strike the other person. When the safety protocol is followed, the scene can be enacted safely. Alec Baldwin ignored the safety protocol, that’s how he ended up killing the mother of a nine year old boy.

    3. @Zero-0-Cypher the Armorer was not allowed to be on set at the time Alec Baldwin shot and killed Halyna Hutchins. The Armorer did not give the revolver to Alec Baldwin, it was taken to him by the Assistant Director who told him the gun was safe. Baldwin didn’t check the revolver, he just assumed it was safe, and it at the woman, pull the trigger and killed her. He is not following the safety measures was not an accident, it was a choice. He has been charged with involuntary manslaughter.

    4. The FBI did a thorough firearms examination and the firearm was in working order. The only way that gun fired is Alec pulling the trigger, or him cocking the hammer back, then carelessly uncocking it with a bullet in the chamber. This was an old west style colt revolver with the firing pin on the hammer. Let the hammer drop on the primer of a bullet and it will fire. Or it can misfire with a bump of the cocking hammer if uncocked and there is a bullet chambered. That’s why when you load a revolver like this you always leave the chamber under the hammer EMPTY. If it’s a six shooter you load it with 5 rounds. That’s the only “safety”. Otherwise it’s just damned dangerous to handle and carry. that’s how you accidentally/negligently shoot yourself or someone else.

    5. @Den Van you said “A firearm is never to be pointed directly at another person on camera in a scene ”

      In my googling this doesn’t look to be an actual rule . Especially in how they get all the scenes where a gun is pointing at a camera. And there are plenty of scenes obviously not spliced where 1 actor fires a gun at another in close proximity in the same frame.
      But if it was an actual rule , then it looks like these rules do no good … and the only way forward is NO MORE REAL Guns on set.

      But yes Alec is responsible for his part as the actor … but I think his responsibility is more so as the producer.

      Are you here in defense of the Armorer ?
      It kind of seems that way in your wording.
      Not saying there is anything wrong with that though. Just was curious .

  3. There is no law against having live ammunition on the set of a movie. There are laws against accidental killing people though.

    1. You like everyone else here had no idea who she was until she died. Now you like others are her new best friends. You care so much.

  4. Blanks can kill at close range, there is no way that gun went off without pulling the trigger. I am sure he was horsing around and someone wound up dead. Must always respect firearms period.

    1. @flipnotrab Alec Baldwin said he would never be criminally charged in the case. He was wrong about that, too. He had to break every movie industry, safety protocol in order to aim that revolver, pull the trigger and kill the mother of a nine-year-old boy.

    2. It was a tragic accident. Whomever put the live rounds in the gun is not willing to come forward. He was told the gun was safe.

  5. I don’t understand why he’s charged when he didn’t have any fault in it. He just used a prop gun that was handed to him and was supposed to be checked by the prop master or armorer.

    1. @Turkey 01 I was reading the Wikipedia article on the Rust incident earlier, so just learning about it. Seems they were striking on set and using the props (which are real guns) to shoot beer cans in their down time. Anyway, what it will boil down to is who is the reckless, criminally negligent one. Is it Baldwin who hired these people on his set to ensure safety and protocol. And then when he is handed what he thought was a cold prop was his negligence stemming from how he used the gun. Will the jury think he only acted that way based on bad information: “cold gun”? Perhaps, that will be his argument. Truly a tough case!

    2. @LadyCymbeline  If I was taking odds down in Las Vegas and betting money 💰 big money, I would say the prosecuting attorneys gonna offer Baldwin a plea bargain for a guilty lesser sentence! If he doesn’t take it and is found Guilty!they the P/A will slap him with a full maximum 5 years in the Martha Stewart Hilton! I would not want to be in Baldwins shoes they wear real cowboy boots and Stetsons in New Mexico! Bottom line is this the firearm contained 6 rounds and he Baldwin should have checked! A jury Naturally we’ll take it into consideration of the armorer’s responsibility And the defence shifting the responsibility but the bottom line is they are gonna hold Alec Baldwin the ultimate responsibility for the safe use of that firearm! He should have checked regardless and not took somebody’s else’s word for it was cold and safe! Never take anybody’s word for anything! Like Ronald Reagan said trust but verified!

    3. @Turkey 01 Great points and theory. I think you are right. He acted rash and unfortunately made a huge, irretrievable mistake. It will be interesting to see if he goes to trial with this or tries to deal. Thanks for the chuckle about Stetsons. 🙂 cheers!

    4. The Armorer wasn’t allowed to be on set at the time, Alec Baldwin shot and killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. As an actor, Alec Baldwin was responsible to check the (or demand the Armorer be brought on set to check it in his presence), according to the Screen actors Guild Safety Bulletin page 4 paragraph 1. Alec Baldwin was instructed, verbally to never point a firearm at another person, and also had written instructions to never point of fire arm of a person in Course S of Contracts and services. Basic fire arm, safety is to always assume the fire arm is loaded, never pointed at anyone, keep your finger off the trigger until you’re ready to fire and hit only what you’re aiming at. Alec Baldwin ignored all these safety rules. He aimed the revolver at Halyna Hutchins and killed her.

    5. @LadyCymbeline Wikipedia is a poor source for information; it is likely that Alec Baldwin’s crisis PR team wrote that entry.
      Alec Baldwin did not operate according to verbal and written instructions to never point a firearm at another person on camera in a scene but rather to aim slightly to the side. That is against the remote possibility that a live round is fired. That is exactly what happened in the situation. Alec Baldwin would not have killed Halyna Hutchins if he had followed the instructions in Course S of Contracts and services. As an actor, he was responsible to ensure his own safety, and that of his coworkers, according to the Screen actors Guild Safety Bulletin page 4 paragraph 1. Basic gun safety rules are to always assume a firearm is loaded, never pointed at another person, keep your finger off the trigger until you’re ready to fire and only hit what you’re aiming at. Alec Baldwin is culpable for involuntary manslaughter because he did not follow any of the studio safety protocols or common gun safety measures. Ignoring those was a choice, not an accident.

  6. He pulled the trigger so it is his responsibility. Others could also be charged as far as I’m concerned. If you point ANY gun at someone it on you. They said he did pull them trigger and lied. That their evidence showed he did. Guns don’t just go off. If you believe they do you are clueless to firearms, and how they work.

  7. We all know this was an accident, an avoidable accident. Live rounds should never been on the set. The People in charge of the firearms handled the ammo several times and the difference between live & blanks is obvious

  8. Have to say, if I were Baldwin and were told the gun was ‘cold’ then I would feel a total injustice here to be charged with manslaughter. It’s surely the movie’s armorer who is directly responsible by making the error of handing him a ‘hot’ gun, however unwillingly and mistakenly. There *has* to be something more here that’ll probably come out in a full trial.

    1. He the effin Producer as well, thus responsible for the production and it’s safety failings on set as well. Such as it being such a clusterf’k he as an actor is somehow handed a gun loaded with live ammunition that he proceeds to kill someone with.

    2. Protocol is for the armorer to show the actor that the gun is cold. That didn’t happen.

      The AD handed him the gun and protocol wasn’t followed. Alec new protocol wasn’t followed. Also you don’t point firearms at people on set, this shot would be a safety meeting and a remote control camera would be used to point the gun at camera. The only way around that is to use a dummy gun, which this was not.

    3. The Armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed wasn’t allowed to be on set at the time Alec Baldwin shot and killed Halyna Hutchins. Hannah Gutierrez-Reed didn’t hand, Alec Baldwin, the revolver, assistant, Director, Dave Halls brought it to him and told him it was safe. Alec Baldwin should have checked the revolver himself, or he had it checked for him (the Screen actors Guild Safety Bulletin page 4 paragraph 1). Hannah Gutierrez-Reed had given Alec Baldwin specific verbal instructions during safety training to never point a firearm at another. Alec Baldwin also had written instructions to never been a firearm in another person (Course S of Contracts and services). Basic firearm, safety rules say you were never two point a firearm in another person. Alec Baldwin ignored all the safety rules, and the revolver at Halyna Hutchins and fatally shot her. He ignored all the safety rules; that was a choice, not an accident. That is why he has been charged with involuntary manslaughter.

    4. @Wesley Ball yes, the person who fires a gun and hurt/kill someone is responsible for their actions. The first rule of gun safety is always assume the gun is loaded. The second rule is never point. A firearm at anyone. The third rule is keep your finger off the trigger until you’re ready to fire. And the fourth rule is hit only what you were aiming at. Alec Baldwin ignored all the studio, safety protocols, verbal and written instructions not to point a firearm at anyone in the basic gun safety rules. That is why Alec Baldwin has been charged with involuntary manslaughter in the death of Halyna Hutchins, mother of a nine year old boy, wife of 16 years.

  9. But it wasn’t his fault The prompt staff should have checked to make sure it wasn’t real he didn’t kill her. Rest in peace for the actress.🤬🤦🏻‍♀️🥰🥴☢️😇⚠️🧼😮😳

    1. Alec Baldwin had verbal and written instructions to never point a firearm in another person (Course S of Contracts and services). He was responsible to check the safety set up or have it checked for him (the Screen actors Guild Safety Bulletin page 4 paragraph 1). Basic gun safety rules are too always assume the five armies loaded, never pointed at another person and keep your finger off the trigger until you’re ready to shoot. Alec Baldwin ignored all the safety rules; that was a choice, not an accident. That is how he ended up killing the mother of a nine year old boy, that is why he has been charged with involuntary manslaughter.

  10. This is just wrong, anyone who has ever been in film, theater, or stage, knows full well that the fault lies with the props manager = especially so with firearms. They are given props they are told are safe, and fault clearly lies elsewhere

  11. I took an accident prevention course and my final presentation and paper was on this event. I wrote about The “Dirty Dozen” in accident Prevention and it literally was a tick on all the boxes! Read the letter that Lane Luper wrote, he warned that they often played things “fast and loose” and a reason for him leaving was safety, specifically misfires of the gun going off, not once but multiple times. I don’t believe Alec holds all the blame not even the majority of it honestly, but there is a good case against him and the best thing for him to do would be to shut his mouth because it could get him in trouble. I want to know where that box came from!?!?! It just appeared out of thin air? WTF is that all about?

  12. So happy that they are not holding AB and his team above the law! This happened on his watch as a producer and the fact that he made this about himself was disgusting. FTD!

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