Criminal Charges ‘On the Table’ in Alec Baldwin Shooting

Above, Alec Baldwin at the 2016 Comic Con. Photo by Gage Skidmore.

Alec Baldwin and others on the set of Rust may be charged criminally for the accidental shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and the wounding of director Joel Souza.

According to an article in The Epoch Times:

The shooting on the set for the film “Rust” may result in criminal charges, said a New Mexico district attorney.

District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies told the New York Times that officials are still investigating and “haven’t ruled out anything” on whether charges could be filed.

Last week, actor Alec Baldwin was rehearsing a scene on the set of the Western film near Santa Fe when he discharged a loaded gun, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza. Baldwin, who is also the film’s executive producer, hasn’t been charged in the incident.

“Everything at this point, including criminal charges, is on the table,” Carmack-Altwies told the NY Times. “There were an enormous amount of bullets on this set, and we need to find out what kinds they were,” she added.

To read more, go here. 

Live Rounds In "Prop" Baldwin Gun That Killed Cinematographer

Above, actor Alec Baldwin.

Details on the movie set fatal shooting that killed a cinematographer and wounded a director are coming out.

The New York Times reported:

SANTA FE — On a ranch in northern New Mexico, where the cottonwoods and the dusty foothills have formed the backdrop of Westerns since the 1950s, Alec Baldwin was filming a new movie on Thursday afternoon when his character, an outlaw, needed a gun.

An assistant director grabbed one of three prop guns that the film’s armorer had set up outside on a gray cart, handed it to Mr. Baldwin, and, according to an affidavit signed by Detective Joel Cano of the Santa Fe County sheriff’s office,  yelled “Cold Gun!” — which was supposed to indicate that the gun did not have any live rounds in it.

When Mr. Baldwin fired the gun, law enforcement officials said, it struck and killed the film’s cinematographer and wounded its director — and raised new questions about firearms safety on film sets.

The assistant director “did not know live rounds were in the prop-gun” when he gave it to Mr. Baldwin, according to the affidavit, which was made as part of a search warrant application. The affidavit did not specify what kind of ammunition the gun had been loaded with.    

The results were deadly: Halyna Hutchins, 42, the film’s director of photography, was struck in the chest and flown to the University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque, where she died, officials said. Joel Souza, 48, the film’s director, was shot in the shoulder area and wounded; he was taken to Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center in Santa Fe and later released.

I find it incredible that live rounds were even at the movie location and that they found their way into a "prop" gun. Talk about gross negligence.

To read more, go here.