It was a real gun, not a prop.
The set armorer did not check the weapon and clear it for set use AFTER some of the crew had loaded real ammo and fired it at some cans and bottles off the set. There was still a real round in the weapon, which Baldwin assumed was unloaded and safety checked........................
Yes. I know all this.
“AFTER some of the crew had loaded real ammo and fired it at some cans and bottles off the set.”
If that was so, then they would have the duty to remove the lethal cartridges.
It probably was reckless to ever load a studio gun with lethal cartridges.
Standard procedure for live guns on-set, nobody touches guns unless the armorer hands it to them. Also, when a live-gun is handled on-set, it is never pointed at anyone, it is aimed off-body.
In this case, a production assistant went and grabbed the gun for him to rehearse the scene with and the idiot actor aimed it at another person.
It should also be noted that, being single action, he actually needed to cock the hammer first before pulling the trigger. But it’s also possible that idiot actor was already holding the trigger down when he cocked it, thus why you never have your finger in the trigger until you are ready to destroy whatever/whoever the barrel is pointing at.
“which Baldwin assumed”
#2 on the gun safety list:
#1 Never point a gun at something you don’t want to shoot
#2 Check every firearm, every time, never assume it’s not loaded.
Careless, reckless, and easily avoidable.
[[AFTER some of the crew had loaded real ammo and fired it at some cans and bottles off the set.]]
I had read abotu the practice session early on, but as the case went on, noone seemed to bring that up anymore- Was it established that they definitely had a shooting session?