The mishap Thursday in which Alec Baldwin fired a prop gun and killed the cinematographer while filming the movie Rust was not the first time a firearm had misfired on the New Mexico set, according to the crew.
Gun inspections and other safety concerns were not up to industry standards, sources told the Los Angeles Times, and two gun misfires were said to have occurred Saturday.
According to crew members on set Saturday, Baldwin’s stunt double accidentally fired two rounds despite being told that the gun was “cold,” a word that was supposed to mean there was no ammo in the gun.
“There should have been an investigation into what happened,” a crew member told the newspaper. “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 sent a text message to the unit production manager. “We’ve now had 3 accidental discharges. This is super unsafe,” the message said.
URGENT PLEA FOR HELP REVEALED IN 911 CALL AFTER ALEC BALDWIN PROP GUN SHOOTING
“The safety of our cast and crew is the top priority of Rust Productions and everyone associated with the company,” Rust Movie Productions said in a statement. “Though we were not made aware of any official complaints concerning weapon or prop safety on set, we will be conducting an internal review of our procedures while production is shut down. We will continue to cooperate with the Santa Fe authorities in their investigation and offer mental health services to the cast and crew during this tragic time.”
In the hours before Thursday’s fatal shooting, members of the camera crew left the set in protest against the safety of the production and poor working conditions for the film in which Baldwin is credited as an actor and producer.
“They did everything they absolutely could to save a nickel at all costs,” a source told the Daily Beast. “They put everybody in jeopardy in one way or another, whether it was hiring less than qualified people to deal with firearms or it was the constant fight about housing people appropriately. In all my years of doing this, this is one of the worst productions I’ve been on.”
The person in charge of prop firearms the day of the fatal shooting was an armorer named Hannah Gutierrez Reed, according to a call sheet for the film reviewed by the Wall Street Journal. Reed, 24, had recently worked on Nicholas Cage’s movie The Old Way as the head armorer. It was her first time being the head armorer, though her father was well known in the industry and trained her on firearms and props from a young age.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Halyna Hutchins, the cinematographer, was shot in the chest and director Joel Souza was struck in the shoulder in the shooting mishap Thursday.
Hutchins, 42, was airlifted out and transported to University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque. She died from her wounds later that day. Souza, 48, is expected to make a full recovery and was released from a separate hospital on Thursday.
Law enforcement is conducting an investigation. No charges have been made in connection with the shooting as of Friday evening.
A search warrant affidavit said the assistant director handed the prop gun to Baldwin, shouted “cold gun,” and that’s when Baldwin fired the gun.
“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,” Baldwin tweeted on Friday. “I’m fully cooperating with the police investigation to address how this tragedy occurred and 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.”
