There have been a lot of unbelievable reports from the story of the shooting on the set of Alec Baldwin’s movie “Rust.”
These are just the beginning.
If you read the warrant that has been filed by the police, there’s a troubling part that is causing a lot of comment on social media. It is about what they said in relation to COVID protocols. Deadline holds a copy the affidavit to the search warrant. You can also read it all there. But here’s the part in question.
Affiant arrived at the scene and learned that the incident occurred inside a structure on Bonanza Creek Road. The OPS location was N35.32.35 in WI06.5.52. Affiant discovered that the weapon used in the incident was protected by the arriving deputies.
During the filming of the movie, the Assistant Director (Dave Halls,) grabbed one of three “prop-guns” that was set-up by the Armorer (Hannah Gutierrez), which was on a cart. Because of COVID19 restrictions, the cart is a two-layered gray rolling table. Affiant discovered that one of the prop guns was taken by Dave Halls, the Assistant Director. He then took the gun to Alec Baldwin, the actor who was within the structure. As the Assistant Director (Dave Halls) handed the gun to the Actor Alec Baldwin, (Dave Halls) yelled, “Cold Gun,” indicating the prop-gun did not have any live rounds. Alec Baldwin (Actor) fired the prop-gun, hitting the Cinematographer Halayna Houtchins and Joel Souza (“Director”) who were behind it.
So the guns were left on a cart outside the church because of “COVID restrictions.” What does that mean? The COVID restrictions refer to people and not guns, if you read between the lines. So it seems to me it’s saying only certain people were allowed into the church at that time and maybe the armorer wasn’t one of them. Is it really possible that they didn’t want the armorer to be the one who gave Baldwin the weapon? It was then handed to Dave Halls, assistant director.
It’s not clear what his understanding of guns was. Some reports suggest that he was a victim to a safety problem.
Adam Baldwin (no relation) poses this question.
Did COVID protocols that segregate crews into A,B & C groups put the armorer in Group B and therefore required to socially distance from close contact with the A team (e.g., principle actor/producer, director, cinamatographer, 1stAD)?
— Adam Baldwin (@AdamBaldwin) October 25, 2021
Joel Souza revealed another issue with the setup. Souza said that he recalls the call about the gun being “cold” but that he doesn’t know if it was checked after they came back from their lunch break, according to the affidavit.
According to Joel it was his belief the gun being used in the rehearsal was safe and used the term “cold gun” when explaining the firearm safety announcements. He said he remembered the phrase “Cold Gun” being said, while preparing for the scene.
Joel shared his knowledge about firearm safety. Joel said that he knew three people were responsible for handling firearms or guns during filming. Hanna, the Armorer checks the guns, then Dave Halls the Assistant Director inspects the firearm and gives the gun to the actor. [….]
Joel said that they were preparing for lunch before Actor Alec Baldwin discharged the gun. Joel explained that Joel and Alec Baldwin broke for lunch about 12:30 pm and they were required to transport to a different area from the set where they could have breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Joel stated that they came back to set for lunch at 12:30 p.m., but he’s not certain if firearm was checked again.
Again, reading between the lines, that means there was a break in between the time of the gun being declared “cold” and the shooting, during which time they went out to lunch off the set. After which they came back and Souza doesn’t know if the gun was checked again. In the meantime, where was the gun? Did you leave the gun outside to practice target shooting on lunch? Or did someone take it off of your cart and use it for other purposes like playing with it or stealing it? We previously reported that the guns had been used to practice target shooting while taking breaks. Has anyone checked the gun once more? Is it the same gun, or was there another one?
On top of all that, now there’s also a report that very gun used was used for target practice to shoot at beer cans earlier in the day, in the morning before the shooting.
Source: The Wrap
A number of crew members had taken prop guns from the New Mexico set of the indie Western — including the gun that killed Hutchins — to go “plinking,” a hobby in which people shoot at beer cans with live ammunition to pass the time, the insider said.
If that’s true, there’s a lot of liability to share around here.
These safety issues raise many questions. If the reported gun deaths are accurate, and if COVID protocols were involved, this would only add to the terrible decisions made.
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