As a little time passes, more information is coming out about the tragic shooting on a movie set that killed one and injured another. Actor Alec Baldwin was the person who pulled the trigger on the prop gun, which ended up killing the director of photography and injuring the director.
Crew members spoke with the media and helped shine a little light on the working conditions for the film, including the apparent lack of firearm safety measures.
Three crew members who were present at the Bonanza Creek Ranch set that day said they were particularly concerned about two accidental prop gun discharges on Saturday.
Baldwin’s stunt-double accidentally fired two rounds Saturday after being told that the gun was “cold” — lingo for a weapon that doesn’t have any ammunition, including blanks, one of crew members who witnessed the episode told the Los Angeles Times.
via latimes.com
“There should have been an investigation into what happened,” the crew member told reporters. “There were no safety meetings. There was no assurance that it wouldn’t happen again. All they wanted to do was rush, rush, rush.”
A crew member apparently sent a text to the unit production manager, stating that 3 ‘accidental discharges’ have taken place and the conditions were not safe.
For the term ‘accidental discharge’ to be thrown around is completely inaccurate, with the term ‘negligent discharge’ being appropriate. For years we have preached about firearm safety, an important thing to keep in the forefront of your mind anytime you’re handling a firearm, whether that firearm be a prop or not.
Even when I hold blue guns, which are plastic non-functioning models of guns, I still always point them in a safe direction. It’s practices like this that everyone should apply to everything that looks like a firearm, especially if it functions in any manner.
Baldwin spoke out on Twitter about the incident:
1-
— AlecBaldwin(HABF) (@AlecBaldwin) October 22, 2021
There are no words to convey my shock and sadness regarding the tragic accident that took the life of Halyna Hutchins, a wife, mother and deeply admired colleague of ours. I’m fully cooperating with the police investigation to address how this tragedy occurred and
2- 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.
— AlecBaldwin(HABF) (@AlecBaldwin) October 22, 2021
Prop guns can be both fake and real firearms, and while we don’t yet know the details of this particular incident, it’s safe to assume that the prop gun used was in fact a real firearm.
Who is to blame, though?
Certainly, the person responsible for the safety and function of the firearm on set has some blame with this type of incident, but some of the blame also lies on Baldwin. Hollywood or not, you don’t point a firearm at anything that you aren’t willing to destroy, as per the 4 Rules of Firearm Safety.
For an anti-gun person to be so negligent around a firearm is beyond my comprehension, and this is a perfect example of why everyone should be familiar with basic firearm safety. There is no excuse for the outcome of this terrible incident, and it’s that simple.
If you’re the one holding the firearm, prop or not, you’d better be damn sure you know what’s going on based on your own verification.
![[WATCH] Man Fends Off Blade-Wielding Attacker With Trashcan And Somehow Wins](https://imagedelivery.net/sbm_lYeJbALkepJgtmRD5w/concealednation.org/2023/02/ASP-surveillance-footage-4-1.jpg/w=728,h=381)
