63-year-old Alec Baldwin stated after the recording of “30 rock” in 2012 that he had plans to retire. That’s not how it went. In the last decade, he has had several main roles, before entering as a producer and actor in the low-budget film “Rust”.
Strongly involved
He was involved in writing the script for his own role – an aging lawless man who comes to the grandson’s rescue after he accidentally shot and killed a man, and was sentenced to death by hanging.
Baldwin was also one of eleven producers for the film, and thus co-responsible for everything on the film set going right.
So when Baldwin shot and killed the 42-year-old film photographer Halyana Hutchins while rehearsing on the film set, it’s obvious something went wrong.
Baldwin was to figure out how to pull the weapon, which was a Colt 45 calibrated revolver, as quickly as possible, and point it at the camera. An assistant set up the camera to find the best light. The camera did not roll, but director Joel Souza looked over Hutchins’ shoulder to see how the picture turned out.
Then they heard a bang.
Souza has described it as a whipping sound, before it said bang, writes the news agency AP. Hutchins complained of pain in her stomach before she stumbled backwards and said she could not feel her legs, and then they discovered all the blood. The bullet had first passed through Hutchins and still into Souza’s shoulder.
First aid was provided while others ran out to call 911. The conversation with the emergency center has been published and shows the chaos that prevailed:
The first aid was to no avail. Lightman Serge Svetnoy has explained that he held Hutchins while she died.
A week later, you know a lot about the course of events through court documents, interviews and posts on social media, but one important question remains unanswered:
How did sharp ammunition end up in a real gun on a film set?
The police have only met the press in connection with the case once. There, Sheriff Adan Mendoza stated that there were some divergent explanations about how the weapon was handled on the set.
Investigators found 500 rounds of ammunition – a mix of sharp and loose shots, although the gunman on the set, Hannah Gutierrez Reed (24), said there should be no sharp shots available.
– Irregularities
“I think the film industry has good gun safety, but I think there have been some irregularities in this film set, and I think there are some security aspects that the film industry, and perhaps the state of New Mexico, must look at,” Mendoza said.
There are very strict rules about weapons, ammunition and explosives on film sets. Experienced directors could not comprehend how such an accident could be possible.
These are the film industry’s strict gun rules
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The film was shot at Bonanza Creek Ranch just outside Santa Fe, New Mexico. Over 130 films have been shot on the ranch that look like everything one associates with a western film.
Before filming began in early October, there were several conflicts between employees in the production. The day before the fatal shot, several crew members left the set due to what they thought were poor working conditions, including safety handling.
A new crew was hired the same morning, but the filming went slowly due to a lack of camera people, Souza said.
Young weapons officer
24-year-old Reed had little experience working as a weapons officer. She has explained to the police that she checked the loose shots the same morning, so as not to confuse them with sharp. Loose shots are similar to sharp shots, except that they have a hole in the side.
While the crew took a lunch break, the weapons were locked in a weapons cabinet, while the ammunition was in front of a trolley, Reed has explained.
After lunch, Sarah Zachry, the props manager, took the weapons from the locker and gave them to Reed. She put three weapons on a trolley outside the church, and assistant director Dave Halls took one of them and gave it to Baldwin.
Halls has explained that he would normally check the barrel on the revolver, and asked Reed to spin the barrel where the cartridges are located, but this time it was not done.
Still, he shouted “cold gun” and gave it to Baldwin, who in good faith was sure the weapon was harmless. It is still not known if Baldwin intentionally pulled the trigger, or if it was a wet shot.
In the chaos after the shooting, Halls found a black revolver on a pew. The revolver was made by an Italian company that specializes in contemporary reproductions, according to AP.
Hall asked Reed to open it to see what was inside. It was loaded with at least four loose shots with holes on the side. It was an empty cartridge. It had no hole in the side.
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