Posted on 12/01/2021 10:17:39 AM PST by CedarDave
The weapons supplier for “Rust” told investigators he may have mistakenly provided the live ammunition that killed the cinematographer and wounded the director during a shooting on set near Santa Fe early last month.
Authorities say movie star Alec Baldwin was practicing a cross draw in an old church on the Bonanza Creek Ranch movie set when he discharged a live round from a Colt .45 revolver, killing Halyna Hutchins, 42, and wounding Joel Souza, 48.
“No charges have been filed as of this date,” Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Juan Rios said Tuesday.
Seth Kenney, owner of PDQ Arm & Prop, told Santa Fe County sheriff’s deputies he may have given reloaded ammunition to the film’s armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed – who loaded the gun – before the Oct. 21 shooting, according to court records.
The father of Gutierrez-Reed, well-known armorer Thell Reed, told deputies he supplied Kenney with live rounds for firearms training with actors during a separate movie shoot out of state and Kenney took the ammunition back to New Mexico with him.
On Tuesday, deputies were in the process of executing a search warrant on Kenney’s business in a strip mall in Northeast Albuquerque.
Prop Master Sarah Zachry told deputies the ammunition for “Rust” was provided by Kenney, by Gutierrez-Reed from a previous production and “extra rounds from an individual identified as ‘Billy Ray.'”
Deputies found other suspected live ammunition on the set during a search and Kenney told them he got his ammunition from Starline Brass.
(Excerpt) Read more at abqjournal.com ...
Nowhere in this article is the term “blank” or “blanks” used.
There is a difference between blanks and dummy rounds.
But, but, but.....I have all sorts of 230, 240, 115gr blanks all over my place!
Ultimately Alec Baldwin is at fault. He did not check to see if the gun was loaded. He pointed it at a person he ostensibly did not want to kill. He pulled the trigger not knowing whether the gun was loaded.
45LC is not a highly popular caliber. I saw some last weekend a the local gun store.
I am a gun novice. Please explain. Thank you.
armorer shoulda, etc. Perhaps the armorer deserves to be fired but is not even an accessory to the “crime.” That is all on the person who pointed the gun at a living person and pulled the trigger without first checking to see if it was loaded.
To me the most likely scenario is that some crew members used the gun for plinking and put it back on the set still loaded. Then no one actually checked it and just assumed it was unloaded. There is no shortage of such idiots in this world and especially in the movie industry.
From my reading journalists are using the terms "blanks" and "dummy" rounds interchangeably. They are not the same, blanks usually have crimped cases which are easy to tell from live rounds while dummy rounds are just that, made to look like live rounds for filming a revolver pointed toward the camera to make it look like the pistol is loaded. Dummy rounds contain no powder and often have holes drilled in the side of the case for quick identification. My take is that Baldwin's revolver had dummy rounds and at least one live round accidentally loaded in the cylinder.
It’s your responsibility to check a gun for live ammo, even if the person who hands it to you swears it’s unloaded.
Fair enough, but doesn’t a dummy round used on a movie set have a big hole in the empty case, and lack a primer, and have conspicuous markings like red nail polish on the case head to confirm it is innocuous?
Best practice would be for dummy rounds never to be used on set except in a close-up scene where the camera needs to see the bullets in the cylinder of a revolver, or being loaded into a magazine, and never to have the hammer cocked or trigger pulled while they are in the gun. I’d go further and insist that the dummy rounds be loaded by the armorer with a press right there on the set, and destroyed immediately afterwards.
NEWS Flash..... somehow, we do not know, a live round made its way into the gun and the gun shot the lady.......case solved.....
And he’s the producer...another level of responsibility.
Blanks have a primer and powder charge. In place of a lead bullet, the casing is crimped over some wading. When chambered and fired, they go BANG!
Dummy rounds have no primer, no powder charge but do have a lead bullet. Dummies often have a BB inside that you can hear rattle when shaken. Some dummy rounds may have a hole drilled through the casing while some may have fluting of the casing
Just trying to keep the terminology straight.
I had some 50 BMG blanks, its still on the armorer.
Ahhhh... Thanks
The armorer on set should have known the difference.
~~~~
Baldwin hired and supervised the armorer.
Agreed
Yes, in movies they use dummies, which are made to look like live rounds. They are somewhat harder to tell from live rounds than blanks are.
on movie sets there are different kinds of dummy rounds.
Some are blanks like what you’re talking about, with crimped ends. Some are rounds with bullet, case, and inert primer made for close-up shots like when the revolver is pointed right at the camera where the audience is supposed to see the bullets in the chambers or where the character is loading the gun.
Multiple sources have suggested that these are supposed to be filled with BBs that rattle when shaken but I can’t tell if that’s an industry standard or not.
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