Sixty-three-year-old actor Alec Baldwin says he accidentally shot and killed 42-year-old cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of “Rust” in Santa Fe New Mexico. Baldwin told Santa Fe police he didn’t know that his producer loaded a live round in a so-called prop gun, usually firing blanks. Baldwin’s story about an accidental shooting makes zero sense because Hutchins was not part of any scene in “Rush’s script. Why Baldwin discharged a firearm without working on a part of a script is anyone’s guess. “There are no words to convey my shock and sadness regarding the tragic accident that took the life of Halnya Hutchins, a wife, mother and deeply admired colleague of ours. I’m fully cooperating with the police investigation,” Baldwin wrote on Twitter. Whatever happened, there’s simply no excuse for Baldwin or anyone else to discharge a gun unless it’s part of the movie script.
New Mexico police are still evaluating the crime scene, collecting evidence, including Baldwin’s blood-soaked costume used on the script. Whether or not Baldwin knew the gun was loaded, he had no business aiming-and-firing a gun at someone not specified in the film’s script. Baldwin’s “cooperating” with New Mexico police but only to the extent that he maintains his innocence, blaming an assistant director for not “informing” him that the “prop-gun” was loaded with a live round. New Mexico crime-scene investigators also seized other prop-guns and ammo found at the crime scene. “My heart is broken for her husband, their son, and all who knew and loved Halyna,” Baldwin said. Why Baldwin’s not heartsick of the victim, a rising star in the cinematographer world is anyone’s guess. Telling police he didn’t know the gun was loaded with a live round is no excuse for pointing-and-discharging a firearm.
Every killer using firearms could claim they didn’t know if the gun was loaded after killing or injuring victims. Because Baldwin was filming a movie, he gets an extra presumption of innocence regarding his “intent.” But “intent” to kill is only one part of the law when determining criminal liability. Brendin Khuri, whose Feb. 17 accident in his Lamborghini caused the death of 32-year-old Monique Munoz, received eight months in jail for manslaughter. Khuri didn’t intend to kill Munoz when he lost control of his vehicle racing an Audi. California laws are very specific about reckless driving causing the death of innocent victims, requiring manslaughter convictions, regardless of intent. When it comes to charging Baldwin, it’s not enough to excuse his conduct based on his statement that he didn’t know the “prop gun” carried live ammunition. When anyone points-and-fires a gun, there’s criminal culpability.
Baldwin hasn’t been charged yet by New Mexico police, trying to figure out how Baldwin’s explanation fits with existing firearm laws. Crime scene investigators know there are many stories about what happened resulting in the death of Hutchins or injury to Director Joel Souza. While there are other fatalities recorded in discharging handguns on movie sets, New Mexico authorities must determine whether Baldwin’s entirely innocent of some criminal wrongdoing. Baldwin has put the blame his prop man or assistant director who told him the gun was “safe.” “In all my years, I’ve never been handled a ‘hot gun,’ meaning, that the one to blame for the deadly shooting was the assist director or prop man on the set. But gun law clearly identify the one who pulls the trigger as responsible for the death, regardless of whether the inadvertent death was accidental or not.
Hutchins lost her life on the “Rust” set not because she was part of the script but because Baldwin was horsing around with a firearm, whether it was loaded or not. Baldwin can blame his prop man or assistant director all he wants but he’s the one that pointed-and-pulled the trigger. Whether the crew on “Rust” followed proper protocol for handling firearms is anyone’s guess. There’s simply no excuse for Baldwin, who stars in the movie, to point-and-discharge a firearm outside the script, simply playing around on the set. If Santa Fe county prosecutors let Baldwin get away with accidental death, they’ll give the green light to production companies or others that play with deadly firearms. Responsible firearm safety requires all individuals to follow basic guidelines, including never pointing-and-pulling the trigger unless it’s part of the action written into a script for specific live-action sequences.
Santa Fe County prosecutors need to look at the circumstances that resulted in Baldwin discharging a firearm on someone not part of a live-action sequence in the script. No one should point-and-pull the trigger simply because they assume the “prop gun” was loaded with blanks not live rounds. Whatever failure took place with the assistant director or prop man, there’s no excuse for Baldwin to point-and-pull-the-trigger when it’s not part of a live-action sequence written into a script. Baldwin shot Hutchins playing around with a gun on set, something entirely preventable. Whether the gun had a live round or not, Baldwin had no right to play around with a firearm that wasn’t part of his role in the script. Shooting Hutchins was a tragic mistake but could have been avoided had Baldwin not fooled around on the set. Claiming he thought the gun was safe is no excuse to point-and-discharge a gun.
