Alec Baldwin 'heartbroken' and cooperating with police after fatal onset shooting of Halyna Hutchins

[EnterpriseSovereign]

Alec Baldwin 'heartbroken' and cooperating with police after fatal onset shooting of Halyna Hutchins.

Alec Baldwin has said “there are no words to convey my shock and sadness” following the death of a cinematographer who died after he fired a prop firearm on a film set.

The Hollywood actor confirmed he is “fully cooperating” with the police investigation into the accident, in which Halyna Hutchins, 42, died of her injuries.


A second tweet said: “I am in touch with her husband, offering my support to him and his family. My heart is broken for her husband, their son, and all who knew and loved Halyna.”

Sheriff’s officials in Santa Fe, New Mexico, said Ms Hutchins, director of photography for the movie Rust, and director Joel Souza were shot on Thursday.

Ms Hutchins, 42, was airlifted to University of New Mexico Hospital, where she was pronounced dead by medical personnel, authorities said.

Mr Souza, 48, was taken by ambulance to Christus St Vincent Regional Medical Centre, where he underwent treatment for his injuries and was subsequently released on Friday.

Production has been halted on the film.

The Santa Fe New Mexican reported the 68-year-old was seen outside the sheriff’s office in tears on Thursday, but attempts to get comment from him were unsuccessful.

The International Cinematographers Guild confirmed that the woman who died was Ms Hutchins, a cinematographer.

“The details are unclear at this moment, but we are working to learn more, and we support a full investigation into this tragic event,” guild president John Lindley and executive director Rebecca Rhine said in a statement.

Ms Hutchins, 42, was director of photography on the 2020 action film Archenemy, starring Joe Manganiello.

A 2015 graduate of the American Film Institute, she was named a “rising star” by American Cinematographer in 2019.

Two days ago, in her last Instagram post, Ms Hutchins published a video of herself riding a horse in New Mexico.

"One of the perks of shooting a Western is you get to ride horses on your day off," she wrote,

Following her death, Archenemy director and Ms Hutchins' former colleague Adam Mortimer told ITV's Good Morning Britain: "It’s unbelievable that Halyna, who was a rising star, a young woman, died in a way that was unfathomable and shouldn’t have happened.

"She was an incredible talent and I think we’re all trying to understand how this could have happened."

[Solauren]

It's happened before.

For example, to Brandon Lee.

[Soontir C'boath]

Looks like the prop gun was misfiring before and management didn't care. Union workers walked off the set hours before this happened.

LA Times

[Zaune]

So, yeah. You know how pretty much every union involved in the film industry was threatening walk-outs over, among other things, excessively long hours? This is the kind of cock-up they were trying to prevent.

[Solauren]

So, Management was warned this could happen, they didn't care, so the people that they needed on set to be safe (operationally and legally) walked off to force their hand. Instead of being smart, Management said 'keep going', and someone died.

I believe that qualifies for criminal charges.

[Khaat]

I get that this is a low-budget project, but seriously: who the hells makes a movie with guns without making the safety of the cast and crew EVERYTHING? Why isn't every change of hands a safety check for the "prop guns", which are, first and foremost, "guns"?

Some guy hands me a gun on-set and says "it's safe", I'm still going to unload it and cycle the action. You want me to look like I know how to handle a gun in your movie, I'm damn well going to know how to responsibly handle a gun.

[Captain Seafort]

Some guy hands me a gun on-set and says "it's safe", I'm still going to unload it and cycle the action. You want me to look like I know how to handle a gun in your movie, I'm damn well going to know how to responsibly handle a gun.

True (although in this case I suspect it was a revolver, so checking the weapon was clear would require a different specific process), but I think you're making the entire situation more complicated than necessary. Whatever other mistakes were made (and it's becoming ever more clear that the answer to that is "lots") the bottom line is that the weapon wasn't pointed in a safe direction. If people have firearms pointed at them, then sooner or later there's going to be trouble.

[Zaune]

I get that this is a low-budget project, but seriously: who the hells makes a movie with guns without making the safety of the cast and crew EVERYTHING? Why isn't every change of hands a safety check for the "prop guns", which are, first and foremost, "guns"?

Some guy hands me a gun on-set and says "it's safe", I'm still going to unload it and cycle the action. You want me to look like I know how to handle a gun in your movie, I'm damn well going to know how to responsibly handle a gun.

Because doing it properly would have taken more time and money. And from the sound of this article, everyone who knew better than to cut corners had either quit in protest or been forced out.

[Soontir C'boath]

So as it is Alec Baldwin's "passion project" and he is a producer for the movie, frankly it seems he _should_ be held culpable for negligent manslaughter at the very least if not outright manslaughter. They knew the gun was bad to the point the union workers jumped ship.

[Solauren]

Yeah, the upper levels of the production are all accountable for this. Shut the production down, charge them all, and see who cuts deals to nail the others.

[bilateralrope]

I get that this is a low-budget project, but seriously: who the hells makes a movie with guns without making the safety of the cast and crew EVERYTHING? Why isn't every change of hands a safety check for the "prop guns", which are, first and foremost, "guns"?

Some guy hands me a gun on-set and says "it's safe", I'm still going to unload it and cycle the action. You want me to look like I know how to handle a gun in your movie, I'm damn well going to know how to responsibly handle a gun.

Because doing it properly would have taken more time and money. And from the sound of this article, everyone who knew better than to cut corners had either quit in protest or been forced out.

These lines stand out to me:

Shooting began on Oct. 6 and members of the low-budget film said they had been promised the production would pay for their hotel rooms in Santa Fe.

But after filming began, the crews were told they instead would be required to make the 50-mile drive from Albuquerque each day, rather than stay overnight in nearby Santa Fe. That rankled crew members who worried that they might have an accident after spending 12 to 13 hours on the set.

It sounds like money that was promised to this film disappeared. So I'm wondering how many other films backed by the same companies have similar problems.

Yeah, the upper levels of the production are all accountable for this. Shut the production down, charge them all, and see who cuts deals to nail the others.

It's going to be interesting to see who Hollywood blacklists over this. And who they let keep working.

[Sidewinder]

One major contributing factor to this accident, was the head armorer's lack of experience.

Head Armorer on Alec Baldwin Movie 'Rust' Was 'Nervous' About Experience Level Before Taking Job
BY NATALIE COLAROSSI ON 10/23/21 AT 10:07 AM EDT

the head armorer for the movie Rust expressed doubt over her job experience level one month before Alec Baldwin shot and killed a cinematographer on set with a loaded prop gun.

Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, 24, told the podcast Voices of the West in September that she almost didn't take the job as lead gun handler because she wasn't sure if she was "ready," according to the New York Post.

"You know, I was really nervous about it at first, and I almost didn't take the job because I wasn't sure if I was ready ... but, doing it, like, it went really smoothly," Gutierrez-Reed said at the time.

"You know, I was really nervous about it at first, and I almost didn't take the job because I wasn't sure if I was ready ... but, doing it, like, it went really smoothly," Gutierrez-Reed said at the time.

Gutierrez-Reed, the daughter of experienced Hollywood armorer Thell Reed, also told the podcast that Rust was only her second film as a head armorer. The lead gun handler added that she was particularly nervous about loading blanks into props.

Gutierrez-Reed's statements last month preceded Thursday's incident when Baldwin fired a loaded prop gun that killed the film's director of photography, 42-year-old Halyna Hutchins, and wounded writer-director Joel Souza.

According to court documents, Baldwin was handed the gun by assistant director Dave Halls who told him the weapon was a "cold gun"—meaning it was supposedly not loaded with live rounds—shortly before the deadly incident took place near Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Neither Halls nor Baldwin were aware that the gun was actually loaded, the Associated Press reported.

<Snip.>

‘Rust’ armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed once gave unchecked gun to 11-year-old actor: report
By Patrick Reilly
October 23, 2021 8:56pm Updated

The “inexperienced” armorer in charge of weapons on set of Alec Baldwin’s movie “Rust” had given a gun to an 11-year-old actress without checking properly for safety, a report said.

Hannah Gutierrez Reed, 24, daughter of prominent Hollywood armorer Thell Reed, was head armorer on set in Santa Fe where Baldwin fired a prop gun loaded with a live round, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza.

Gutierrez-Reed’s alleged misstep happened on the set of the upcoming Nicholas Cage film, “The Old Way” and temporarily halted filming, sources told The Daily Beast.

“She was reloading the gun on the ground, where there were pebbles and stuff,” one source told the outlet. “We didn’t see her check it, we didn’t know if something got in the barrel or not.”

Gutierrez-Reed reportedly handed the gun to child actress Ryan Kiera Armstrong, forcing concerned crew members to intervene, the report said. The gun was then checked for barrel obstruction, according to the sources.

“She was a bit careless with the guns, waving it around every now and again,” a source said.

“There were a couple times she was loading the blanks and doing it in a fashion that we thought was unsafe.”

A “Rust” production source described Reed as “inexperienced and green,” to the outlet, adding that there had been two other incidents of accidental discharges by crew members.

Two other “Rust” production sources questioned if Assistant Director Dave Halls followed proper procedure before the tragic incident.

“He’s supposed to be our last line of defense and he failed us,” one source told The Daily Beast. “He’s the last person that’s supposed to look at that firearm.”

Halls was named in the affidavit calling out “cold gun,” indicating its safety before giving the weapon to Baldwin.

Another source confirmed that it should be the assistant director’s job to test each gun for being “hot” — loaded with live rounds, or “cold” — loaded with blank rounds.

“This check alone should’ve prevented this incident,” the person told The Daily Beast.

Last month, Guitierrez- Reed said on a podcast that she was “nervous” about her abilities as an armorer while she was working on “The Old Way” — her first experience as head armorer.

“You know, I was really nervous about it at first, and I almost didn’t take the job because I wasn’t sure if I was ready … but, doing it, like, it went really smoothly,” she said last month on the Voices of the West podcast.

As for why so inexperienced an armorer was chosen? I suspect the film producer was being cheap.

Also:

Asst. Director Who Gave Alec Baldwin 'Cold' Gun Has History of Unsafe Work Conditions: Prop Maker
BY FATMA KHALED ON 10/24/21 AT 11:27 AM EDT

A pyrotechnician and prop maker said tha Dave Halls, who told actor Alec Baldwin that a prop gun was not loaded prior to a fatal shooting on set, had a history of unsafe work conditions.

Maggie Goll, who previously worked with Halls, alleged that "he did not maintain a safe working environment."

She told Newsweek in a statement on Sunday that movie sets where Halls worked were "almost always allowed to become increasingly claustrophobic, no established fire lanes, exits blocked...safety meetings were nonexistent."

She also said that "the lack of proper gun safety knowledge and experience is endemic in the film industry."

Baldwin was on the set of his upcoming western movie Rust, which was being filmed near Santa Fe, New Mexico, when Halls handed him the prop gun and claimed it was a "cold" weapon.

<Snip.>

[Solauren]

Apparently, Baldwin IS one of the producers, if not the Executive Producer

[loomer]

I wouldn't read too much into that. Big name stars get producer credits on most of their films - usually Executive Producer, which is actually less significant than just Producer - but it doesn't indicate that they were spending their time wrangling the prop guys and the armorers.

[EnterpriseSovereign]

There seems to be some uncertainty over whether "cold gun" means "only loaded with blanks" or "not loaded at all".

[Sidewinder]

There seems to be some uncertainty over whether "cold gun" means "only loaded with blanks" or "not loaded at all".

Some articles I read, state in Hollywood, a "hot gun" is one that's loaded- both blanks and live rounds count- while others say a "cold gun" is one loaded only with blanks. With the poor quality I keep getting from American news outlets, which are obviously more interested in political activism than in reporting- remember when CNN described a violent riot as "Fiery but mostly peaceful"? -I suspect the reporters simply didn't care about the difference.

[bilateralrope]

How often does Hollywood even use live rounds in filming ?

Because I can't think of a good reason to use them. So my thinking is that live rounds should never be present for filming, so hot/cold guns should refer to the difference between a gun with blanks and an empty gun.

[Agent Fisher]

How often does Hollywood even use live rounds in filming ?

Because I can't think of a good reason to use them. So my thinking is that live rounds should never be present for filming, so hot/cold guns should refer to the difference between a gun with blanks and an empty gun.

The only time I can even remember hearing about actual live rounds for filming was 'Act of Valor' (2012), which was filmed with active duty SEALs by a film maker who had done a promotional video for US Navy Special Warfare Combatant Craft Crewmen, SWCC. The reason live rounds was used was it was filmed mostly on various SEAL training sites, so they could safely use live ammo and showcase capabilities and such.

Other than that, can't ever think of live rounds being used in filming.

[Broomstick]

I will now link to a PDF regarding use of firearms on a set: here it is There are several sources of information on industry safety practices and they are seem pretty similar in content. I linked to this one because it didn't involve seeking Page ## in a document hundreds of pages long. If one of the industry professionals here has a better source go with what they say.

This link requires scrolling past the initial reporting to the affidavit requesting a search warrant for the set, misspellings and all, made by a Santa Fe sheriff department detective who went to the scene.

Otherwise, I'm taking anything reported with a very large grain of salt because reporters are seldom authorities on firearms and the get things wrong a lot. And that's not even getting to the scandal-mongers out there who are more interested in profit than truth.

A press conference is scheduled for this morning by Santa Fe authorities which may have more information. If you don't catch it live I'm sure there will be reporting on it later.

And that's the extent of hard facts I currently have on hand, offered here for your perusal and contemplation.

[Broomstick]

It's happened before.

For example, to Brandon Lee.

Yes. Brandon Lee in 1993. Before that, Jon-Erik Hexum in 1984. Given how many guns and other weapons are utilized in the production of entertainment every year that actually makes this sort of thing pretty rare. That's a positive, even if just one such tragedy is more than anyone wants.

So as it is Alec Baldwin's "passion project" and he is a producer for the movie, frankly it seems he _should_ be held culpable for negligent manslaughter at the very least if not outright manslaughter. They knew the gun was bad to the point the union workers jumped ship.

With the caveat that I am not privy to the legal/corporate structure of this movie production, there are something like 8 producers listed for this project, some with “executive” in front of the title and some not. I’m not at all clear who is doing what.

Baldwin looks like the biggest name attached to this movie. It’s possible “producer” is an honorary title in his case and his main purpose, other than being a lead, is to act as a box-office draw. Unless you’re an industry insider it might be wise not to jump to conclusions about how much control Baldwin did or didn’t have here. Sure, as a big-name star he had some, but I’m not sure how much.

Also, Baldwin, is an actor, not a firearms expert. He’s hired to act. There are other people hired to deal with on-set safety who likely are more legally and morally at fault that he is. Baldwin is a last link in a chain of events.

Yeah, the upper levels of the production are all accountable for this. Shut the production down, charge them all, and see who cuts deals to nail the others.

Huh. I was thinking that maybe we should charge whomever was in charge of the firearms on set and responsible for making sure they’re safe to use as intended. And maybe anyone who might have mis-used or improperly accessed those props. You know, the people whose actions or inactions were directly responsible for a live load being in a gun used as a prop.

In this case, we have a relatively inexperienced 24 year woman who might have been banking on her father’s name/reputation paired with an older, male Assistant Director who had been fired from a prior project due to playing fast-and-loose with the safety rules. If anyone is charged, they should be first in line.

As I read the Santa Fe law (keep in mind I am not a lawyer) it’s possible Balwin could be charged with involuntary manslaughter in this case but past history is that the actor pulled the trigger on a prop that was supposed to be safe to handle is not always charged. Michael Massee, who pulled the trigger on the set of The Crow that killed Brandon Lee, was not charged, no one was and it was ruled an accident due to negligence. Massee also suffered from PTSD for the rest of his life from the incident. Lee’s family sued the producers, not Massee. Baldwin was not the person hired to keep the props safe, I don’t expect him to be charged even if it’s possible. Now, getting sued in civil court is a possibility, but that would depend on whether the Hutchins family wants to pursue that, or how Souza (the director who was wounded) feels about a civil case.

With the poor quality I keep getting from American news outlets, which are obviously more interested in political activism than in reporting- remember when CNN described a violent riot as "Fiery but mostly peaceful"? -I suspect the reporters simply didn't care about the difference.

And most of the UK outlets are even worse – although the BBC did have a nice graphic explaining the difference between a live round and a blank and their coverage is less hysterical than the rest.

How often does Hollywood even use live rounds in filming ?

Because I can't think of a good reason to use them. So my thinking is that live rounds should never be present for filming, so hot/cold guns should refer to the difference between a gun with blanks and an empty gun.

The only time I can even remember hearing about actual live rounds for filming was 'Act of Valor' (2012), which was filmed with active duty SEALs by a film maker who had done a promotional video for US Navy Special Warfare Combatant Craft Crewmen, SWCC. The reason live rounds was used was it was filmed mostly on various SEAL training sites, so they could safely use live ammo and showcase capabilities and such.

Other than that, can't ever think of live rounds being used in filming.

Yep, pretty much no reason at all to ever use live rounds.

Mythbusters did use live rounds as well as explosives, with much NEVER TRY THIS AT HOME, use of ranges intended for the purpose of using dangerous projectiles, safety protocols, and often professionals handling the explosives rather than the cast of the show. Even then, they once had a cannonball go rogue and thank goodness it was just property damage and no people hurt.

Act of Valor used live rounds, as well as actual SEALs. The only other film I’m aware of that used live ammunition was the Soviet film Come and See (Of course, that’s the English name – I’m not even going to try Cyrillic although the link has the Russian and Belarusian names)

Other than those productions I can’t think of any professional productions that used live ammunition.

There are a bunch of videos on the internet, such as on YouTube, involving people firing live rounds when discussing guns and their uses, but even there you see a lot safety protocols being used. Not universally, of course, because you're dealing with amateur video-makers, but even a lot of the amateurs are being careful and safety-conscious with actual weaponry. Which just makes the apparent sloppiness on a set of an allegedly professional production all the more appalling.

Explosives on set for various effects are much more common than live bullets.

From what I gather, based on my current information and therefore subject to change with more facts, the prop guns were not properly secured by the Armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed. They might have been appropriated at some point for recreational/target shooting by currently unnamed people then returned to where they were stored, accounting for how the live round wound up in the gun. At the time of the incident, the guns and accouterments were on a cart just outside the building that was being used for the shoot. The Assistant Director Dave Halls went to get the prop, picked it up, failed to inspect it either properly or at all, and yelled “cold gun”. He handed the gun to Baldwin, who assumed it was safe based on that statement of “cold gun”. While the camera and shot were being set up Baldwin was practicing his moves in the intended cross-draw for the shot. He drew once and nothing happened. On the second draw the gun goes off. The bullet then strikes Hutchins in the torso, goes entirely through her body, and wounds Director Souza, standing behind her, in the shoulder.

I am not entirely sure but apparently the gun involved was a Colt Single Action Army revolver, or Colt SAA, an single-action revolver and likely a .45 caliber (although the gun comes in at least six calibers) given that that is the iconic “Western” gun. I don’t know if it’s the modern version – you can buy a brand new one from Colt for about $1800 USD if you so desire – or an actual antique. An actual period gun is, based on my minimal research, apparently prone to misfire, unintended discharge, and once cocked is somewhat difficult to uncock without causing a bullet to be fired. Subsequent versions/modern version is supposedly a bit safer, but the SAA tends to have a very light trigger draw – I have to wonder if the hammer got caught on part of Baldwin’s costume. Or the trigger did. Or something.

Colt revolvers are a bit like vintage Ford pickup trucks – a shit-ton of them were made over the years so they’re all over the place and a lot of them are still in working condition.

And finally – yes, the first rule of firearm safety is NEVER POINT A GUN AT ANOTHER PERSON but making entertainment involving guns violates that rule. Which is why there is a shit-ton of rules and procedures for making that first rule violation as safe as possible, from using camera angles to make it look like a gun is pointing at someone when it’s not, using “dummy” guns, CGI, and all the rest. Even so – if the gun is pointed at the camera that’s a gun pointed at a camera, and if the scene calls for putting the barrel of a gun against the body or head of another actor well, there you go again.

My guess is that this will be found to be not one flawed action/inaction but the end result of a series of breakdowns in rules and procedures. Likely making a movie on the cheap will be a factor, but so might the inexperience of the armorer and so might the recklessness of the assistant director. In particular, the armorer would seem to have the lion’s share of culpability here as keeping the props safe to use was her primary job. If she had been there to pick up the gun and inspect it thoroughly/properly before handing it off to someone else this accident wouldn’t have happened. If the assistant director had inspected the gun before declaring “cold gun” to all and sundry this wouldn’t have happened. Sure, Baldwin was the last link in the chain, but again, his job was to act, not inspect firearms that he might have reasonably assumed had already been rendered/kept safe by the armorer and had been declared safe by the person handling it. Maybe he could have inspected it, too, but I have no idea if Baldwin has any knowledge of firearms. If he didn’t I’m not sure it’s reasonable to expect him to do an inspection on it any more than it’s reasonable to expert an airplane passenger to perform a pre-flight on an aircraft.

[Soontir C'boath]

If the gun had simply been mishandled by the armorer, I would agree. However, given we had union workers walk off the set hours beforehand citing the ongoing dangerous conditions such as one of the guns misfiring without it being addressed. It is clear the producers and Alec Baldwin should have known better and therefore are accountable.

Baldwin is also not just any actor, but one with decades of experience with several executive producer credits to his name so it's not like he's totally ignorant of running a show either.

[Vendetta]

Focusing on the gun is a bit of a red herring. Long hours and inadequate safety precautions in the name of doing things quickly and cheaply find many many ways to injure and kill, that's why the union crews insisted on better standards and walked because they weren't getting them.

But Hollywood right now is obsessed with quick and cheap, so safety standards are going down and injuries and deaths are the result.

[EnterpriseSovereign]

I know guns & ammo are ubiquitous in the USA, but right from the start I was wondering why there were live rounds within a mile of a movie set.

Around 500 rounds of ammunition - some of them live - have been found while searching the Rust film set where a cinematographer was fatally shot last week.

New Mexico authorities have been investigating the death of 42-year-old cinematographer Halyna Hutchins who was hit after Alec Baldwin fired a gun on set.

Director Joel Souza was also wounded.

Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said it’s too early to comment on whether any charges will be filed, he then added 500 rounds of ammunition have been found.

These are a mix of blanks, dummy rounds and live rounds. The sheriff would not comment on how the rounds got on set.

Investigators have also recovered a "lead projectile" believed to have been fired from the gun handed to Mr Baldwin.

Testing is being done to determine whether the bullet recovered from director Joel Souza’s shoulder was fired from the gun used by Baldwin.

Investigators said they will also be following up on reports that there were other incidents involving misfires with guns used on the set.

District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies said investigators can’t say whether it was negligence or by whom at this point.

Both the sheriff and district attorney said they will not rush to judgment and that more investigation is needed.

Link. Can you imagine if the testing found that the bullet they took out of his shoulder wasn't from the same gun Baldwin fired?

[LadyTevar]

And here I thought it was a BLANK that was fired. It was truly a LIVE ROUND?

Shit... whoever let that go by is fucked.

[Formless]

Okay, so, re: live rounds on set, IIRC the actors from Stargate once talked about exactly that-- that there is actually a type of "live" round used in Hollywood for special effects purposes. That is, its live in the sense that it fires a projectile, though not necessarily at full power. Its tipped with flint, and is used to generate a sparking effect when it hits concrete or asphalt to make a more convincing ricochet effect. Its literally ricocheting pieces of white hot flint. I remember this because the actors on Stargate were talking minor about injuries that had happened during the filming of SG-1 where actors and/or crew had gotten blasted in the legs with debris from those flint rounds, reminding everyone that they are in fact a real bullet even if they are underpowered and specially designed. Its possible that Rust was using similar "live" rounds for special effects purposes, and someone accidentally loaded a projectile into the gun when they were supposed to have loaded a blank.