Alec Baldwin is an idiot, but I don’t see how the air-head actor is responsible for a gun that is supposed to have blanks.
Idiot actor. Corrupt prosecutors looking for a headline.
There was no reason for the gun to have ANY rounds in it. It was just a rehearsal. In fact, there is almost NEVER a reason to load blanks into a gun, or dummy rounds, unless firing the gun is critical - and then the gun should NEVER be pointed directly at someone.
Guess you don’t understand guns, or the proper handling of them.
The person holding the gun is responsible for any damage that might be caused by firing it. It’s that simple.
That can be explained with a little background knowledge.
First of all, all of us that have had any familiarization with the usage of "blank" ammunition know that it can kill. Especially close up. Just Vietnam era basic training, where we used blanks, had that drummed into our heads. The discharge of the primer/powder propulsion explosion against minimal paper wadding (that holds the power in place) produces enough force to penetrate a human body. At 25 yards and not in a soft spot, perhaps you are okay, but don't bet on it.
Safety training on set for this movie and others would have provided basic explanation of this and other special considerations and such training is Mandatory in movies with weapons on set. Ergo, Baldwin had been told this multiple times over decades of work.
Next. Baldwin was the Producer as well as star. He hired and fired everyone and ran the set. He ran off the young woman Armorer and cut rules, perhaps because he was indulging horseplay with weapons on off hours.
LASTLY, when you pic up a weapon, even one from an armorer or their substitute (in this case the assistant director) you as the trained weapons handler know to [1] check the weapon and its loads, [2] never fire blanks near someone, [3] understand the firing action, and [4] never point a weapon loaded with anything at anyone.
Baldwin violated all those rules and killed his cinematographer through gross negligence. It was entirely his fault in a dozen ways.
Well he’s also the producer, which makes him the “buck stop” for any on set incident. And he pulled the trigger. Really this is a pretty easy manslaughter case, I don’t understand why they even needed a special prosecutor.
Because you are suppose to consider all guns live until you have checked them personally.
He knew that.
He refused to attend the class on safety on this set but he did attend on other sets.
So he knew.
Had a blast shield on the camera but not on the people.
Somehow managed to shoot two people without any trouble.
The last two points are just interesting. The first two make it murder.
Too bad you never looked into all this, then you would know why he was responsible for shooting those people.
There you go, with logic and common sense. That will never fly around here.
Movie sets hire armorers because actors can’t be trusted to know anything about guns. I remember one actor who was horsing around and fired a blank next to his own temple and the blank shot killed him.
The ‘Rust’ set was very unprofessional and some California people went home because they thought it was unsafe. Live rounds were known to be on the property. That should never be allowed. The armorer and the director both were responsible for checking the gun before handing it to an actor. Baldwin’s a reprehensible fool but actors have never been in charge of the guns used on movie sets.