Prosecutors Say Alec Baldwin Skipped Gun Safety Training
Actor/activist/anger management failure Alec Baldwin skipped gun safety training prior to the filming of his movie Rust, on the New Mexico set of which he fired a gun resulting in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, according to a filing by the Santa Fe district attorney. Baldwin has been charged with involuntary manslaughter.
The filing states:
Statements and evidence show [ALEC] BALDWIN was not present for required firearms training prior to the commencement of filming. Statements, depositions from OSHA, and evidence show BALDWIN was provided only minimal training on firearms, even after [armorer and co-defendant Hannah Gutierrez-] REED requested more training for BALDWIN. In the deposition taken from REED, she stated BALDWIN had very limited training on the cross draw that was required for the scene on the 21st and limited training in firearms and how to check his firearm as to whether it was unloaded or loaded, in which REED felt was very important in his role as RUST.
The “limited training on the cross draw” is important to note because that was what Baldwin was practicing when he accidentally shot and killed Hutchins and wounded writer/director Joel Souza.
The filing continues, “A training session for at least an hour or more in length was scheduled, but the actual training consisted of only 30 minutes as according to REED, BALDWIN was distracted and talking on his cell phone to his family during training.”
The filing also alleges that “BALDWIN approached responding deputies on the day of the shooting wanting to talk to them because he was the one who ‘…fired…’ the gun.”
“BALDWIN later asserted he never fired the revolver, and that it had just “gone off…” BALDWIN made this assertion in public as well in multiple media interviews conducted after the shooting,” the filing adds.
The filing goes on to lay out how the FBI tested the firearm and found it in no way defective: “The analysis clearly showed that the weapon could not ‘accidentally fire’; for the weapon to fire, the trigger has to have been depressed.”
The DA is also holding Baldwin responsible for the shooting in his role as a Rust producer: “In his producer position, the evidence indicates BALDWIN also did not act to address the lack of daily safety meetings that are required to be conducted by the 1st assistant director. Evidence indicates that on or about the 13th day of filming, only three (3) or four (4) safety meetings were conducted by the assistant director.”
The statement concludes with:
BALDWIN’s deviation from known standards, practice and protocol directly caused the fatal shooting of Hutchins. By not receiving the required training on firearms, not checking the firearm with the armorer, letting the armorer leave the church [set] without being present, deviating from the practice of only accepting firearms from the armorer, not dealing with safety complaints on set and/or making sure safety meetings were held, putting his finger on the trigger of a real firearm when a replica or rubber gun should have been used, pointing the firearm at HUTCHINS and SOUZA, and the overall handling of the firearm in a negligent manner, BALDWIN acted with willful disregard for the safety of others and in a manner that endangered people, specifically HUTCHENS [sic] and SOUZA. BALDWIN clearly should have known the danger of his actions which led to the death of HUTCHINS.
This sounds like a pretty convincing case for an involuntary manslaughter charge, a felony that could land Baldwin in prison for 18 months.