Posted on 10/27/2021 12:27:12 AM PDT by grundle
Crew members had gone ”plinking“ and returned the gun to the set, an insider tells TheWrap
The gun that killed “Rust” cinematographer Halyna Hutchins last Thursday was used by crew members that morning for live-ammunition target practice, an individual with knowledge of the set told TheWrap.
A number of crew members had taken prop guns from the New Mexico set of the indie Western — including the gun that killed Hutchins — to go “plinking,” a hobby in which people shoot at beer cans with live ammunition to pass the time, the insider said.
The shooting happened just a few hours later, when lead actor and producer Alec Baldwin discharged a revolver after first assistant director David Halls confirmed that it was a “cold gun,” meaning that the gun did not have any live ammunition in it.
Search warrants issued over the weekend by New Mexico authorities said that Halls had grabbed one of three prop guns set up by armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed and yelled “cold gun” as he handed it to lead actor Alec Baldwin, indicating that the gun did not have any live rounds.
Baldwin, who was rehearsing a scene for the film, was “pointing the revolver towards the camera lens” when it hit director Joel Souza and Hutchins, according to the search warrant made public on Sunday. Hutchins grabbed her midsection and then stumbled backwards as she was assisted to the ground, Souza told authorities. Souza, who was also injured when the gun discharged, was released from a local hospital that night.
Asked for comment, the producers of “Rust” referred to a previous statement: “The safety of our cast and crew is the top priority of Rust Productions and everyone associated with the company. Though we were not made aware of any official complaints concerning weapon or prop safety on set, we will be conducting an internal review of our procedures while production is shut down. We will continue to cooperate with the Santa Fe authorities in their investigation and offer mental health services to the cast and crew during this tragic time.”
The details of the tragic shooting death of the 42-year-old cinematographer seemed only to get more disturbing on Monday as eyewitness accounts have raced through the Hollywood guilds and tight-knit indie community.
The new warrants confirmed that several members of the film’s camera crew had walked off the set earlier that day after complaining about housing, payment and working conditions — forcing producers to scramble to find a new crew.
According to the insider, a walkout by crew members from the below-the-line IATSE union would ordinarily trigger a shutdown of the entire production for 24-48 hours. Instead producers chose to hire non-union replacements to continue the shoot.
Reid Russel, whom the warrant identifies as a cameraman who was standing next to Hutchins and Souza as the gun discharged, said that the crew wrote a letter to the production over the disagreements and that after stepping out for five minutes after returning from lunch, the team was already in possession of the firearm preparing for the scene. He was unsure if it had been checked again in that time.
The police investigation is ongoing.
The crew would plink with their own guns (imo)
Maybe the attraction was an antique or reproduction firearm?
Meanwhile, still wondering if this might have been a murder staged to look like an accident.
Not necessarily by Baldwin.
What would remove the Gabby/Brian saga from the headlines?
Answer ALec Baldwin killing someone and wounding another!
...and if not for California gun laws, the crew wouldn’t have needed to go out shooting that day in an unfamiliar place, as they could have done it at home, and with their own guns.
Come to think of it ... has the gun been identified ?
Think of the commonality between the last two fatal accidents in Hollyweird.
Anton Yeltsin and this one.
I just looked and can find only a reference to .44 .... which seems a little heavy for plinking, eh ?
I sleep in a tin foil bed.
I was wondering if this was a set up to get insurance to cover a lousy movie that wasn’t worth finishing.
I don’t care if the gun used for plinking killed Bigfoot earlier in the day, it’s irrelevant. Alec Baldwin was handed a gun by someone who apparently didn’t do a safety check. After Baldwin received the weapon, he didn’t perform a safety check on it. End of story.....
Involuntary manslaughter or negligent homicide. Those are the two options.
What's it called if you shoot at Pepsi cans?
I use a .45 and there’s others that use a .50.
IMO “plinking” is more of a .22 or .25 in size, Plunking would be a better description of .38, .357 Magnum, .40, .44, .44 Magnum, .45acp, .50 Calibers.
None the less- starting with baldwin and going backwards EVERY PERSON that handled that Firearm is Responsible for the end result. And baldwin committed the crime of MURDER !!!
Low self-esteem, debbil worshipping (check out the t-shirts and tats on the photos) young "armorer", like she had some sort of credentials, allowing people access to the guns AND bringing real ammo to the set, trying to get in with the cool kids.
Was any drinking and/or dope smoking going on at the same time? That's what low-lifes do in the morning, you know.
And oh yeah, Mr. big liberal gun control "Check out my quick-draw just like Gary Cooper!!"
So out of three idiots the so called “armorer” the AD, and Alec, nobody thought to check the weapon. It is an instinct to me, and they want to disarm us.
They only reason for live ammo on site is for actors to get a feel for the actual recoil. Guess this was a dumb way to “feel” the recoil of live vs blank.
Also the criminal side will be interesting.
It will be interesting. Also did Alec literally kill his career?
Crew members had gone ”plinking“ and returned the gun to the set, an insider tells TheWrap
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Who the hell goes plinking and does not fire very round in the gun? I go plinking I have to force myself to not use every round in the damn BOX...If I take my .22 out I only bring one box of ammo for that reason...I have been known to use up 2 boxes before.
Yeah it was fun...and at that time, cheap. I just found an old CCI box with a $1.79 price tag from wally world years ago. Been using it to keep assorted rounds for years. Couple of 22 shorts, 2 or 3 of this, 5 or 6 of that...now and then I’ll go plink a little and use everything in it...start over...
As I’ve said repeatedly, Baldwin ignored firearm safety rules, this was user stupidity, I won’t go into that aspect of it any further. Already been there.
caliber never made any diff to me, it’s the field expedient act of shooting something OTHER than a target
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