Yup.
Also, the prop master (so I’ve heard) simply grabbed the gun, yelled “Cold Gun!” (meaning: safe) and gave it to Baldwin. The prop master should have checked and made an actual determination, then yelled “Cold gun!” and then handed it to Baldwin, who should have also done a check.
Terrible process.
I blame the producer for the lax atmosphere. The producer is Baldwin.
That would be the asst director. The armorer set out three guns and the asst director chose one of them and handed it to Baldwin and said Cold Gun.
Simple proceedure on all sets would be the prop master and the actor check guns together and both state out loud the weapon is safe. Takes all of two minutes and at the very least saves million$.
If Baldwin is prosecuted criminally for this it'll be because of his role as Producer. Lots of people don't want to hear this, but normal gun safety in the real world is different than on a movie set. Movies hire professionals, usually two or three per film, to assure that things like this don't happen. The actor's job is to act, not check weapons. If an actor begins fiddling with a firearm the Director would most likely yell cut, and then have the armorer re-check the firearm. Baldwin, however, was a Producer on this project and there are rumors of people leaving because of unsafe conditions. If that's true, Baldwin could very well be charged criminally. Expect A LOT of finger pointing as the heat get turned up.