Similar thing to what happened to an Arlington police officer during a training exercise when he accidentally shot his friend in the head. My mom knew him and the sheer shock of the situation made him so crazed in that moment, it took multiple officers to hold him down just to keep him from hurting himself.

Horrible situation.

SamHou said:

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Even if blanks were used, it could be lethal. Jon-Erik Hexum died on the set from a blank

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Yeah, but he had the gun next to his head.

Ain't no way a blank goes through one person and strikes another.

The "prop" in this case was a fully functional real gun. Which Hollywood uses most of the time. The fact real ammo got introduced seems to be the issue.

BQ78 said:

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The "prop" in this case was a fully functional real gun. Which Hollywood uses most of the time. The fact real ammo got introduced seems to be the issue.

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Insightful.

Wow...

Alec Baldwin 'Rust' camera crew walked off the set in protest before the fatal shooting https://t.co/neQOD0OtPz

— LAT Entertainment (@latimesent) October 22, 2021

And then he shot their boss.

Sea Speed said:

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And then he shot their boss.

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This part, in particular, is really, really bad for the filmmakers. It's one thing for this to be a tragic accident. It's another thing altogether to have gone to these lengths just prior to the accident happening. This led to there being no union props department on set, meaning no union armor, i.e. the person in charge of overseeing the guns…

The ‘Rust’ producers replaced union crew members engaged in a work stoppage with non-union substitutes hours before the shooting incident, LAT reports. https://t.co/MqolaqT6m1

— southpaw (@nycsouthpaw) October 22, 2021

Also, for the record, Baldwin was a producer on this and his production company was one of the companies responsible for the movie. I don't know if individuals can be sued in a situation like this, but every company involved will be sued into oblivion.

Damn. You think one of those union guys got pissed for being fired and loaded the gun with live rounds?

I seriously doubt it. It just sounds like a horribly run production from top to bottom, which ultimately led to a tragic case of neglect.

helloimustbegoing said:

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Unless Alec Baldwin sourced the ammunition and loaded it into the gun himself, he's not going to get sued or have charges pressed against him. Whoever is in charge of that for the movie is going to be sued, charged wtih something, and if they are an individual, they'll never work in Hollywood again, or if it's a company, they'll be Chapter 11 by December.

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The person in charge's name is, coincidentally, Alec Baldwin

TCTTS said:

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This part, in particular, is really, really bad for the filmmakers. It's one thing for this to be a tragic accident. It's another thing altogether to have gone to these lengths just prior to the accident happening. This led to there being no union props department on set, meaning no union armor, i.e. the person in charge of overseeing the guns…

The ‘Rust’ producers replaced union crew members engaged in a work stoppage with non-union substitutes hours before the shooting incident, LAT reports. https://t.co/MqolaqT6m1

— southpaw (@nycsouthpaw) October 22, 2021

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The article only mentions the camera crew being told to leave, I thought. Or did the union part mean ALL union members of the crew?

Not to turn this into a callous IATSE strike conversation, but this is EXACTLY the kind of sh*t they recently threatened to strike over. And now, they could not have a better possible bargaining chip…

It wasn't even a work stoppage, all they wanted were hotel rooms so they wouldn't fall asleep on the 50 mile drive back to ABQ. Even that was too much and they were unceremoniously replaced with locals.

— The Thorn In Your Side (@BrenDerlin) October 22, 2021

Yea, I read that line that siad they thought they would be staying in hotels after the initial drive, and then told they would have to make the commute every day before filming...no thanks

So we have a penny-wise and pound-foolish situation

PatAg said:

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TCTTS said:

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This part, in particular, is really, really bad for the filmmakers. It's one thing for this to be a tragic accident. It's another thing altogether to have gone to these lengths just prior to the accident happening. This led to there being no union props department on set, meaning no union armor, i.e. the person in charge of overseeing the guns…

The ‘Rust’ producers replaced union crew members engaged in a work stoppage with non-union substitutes hours before the shooting incident, LAT reports. https://t.co/MqolaqT6m1

— southpaw (@nycsouthpaw) October 22, 2021

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The article only mentions the camera crew being told to leave, I thought. Or did the union part mean ALL union members of the crew?

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I'm reading two different things now. Some are saying just the camera crew, some are saying camera crew AND props department. I don't think we know for sure yet…

I was thinking this too. Somewhere in private there are union guys high fiving over this.

We asked professional gun wranglers to explain the safeguards that could have prevented yesterday’s tragedy. https://t.co/O0De1Jbjlo

— VICE (@VICE) October 22, 2021

Right now Baldwin's insurance company is frantically confirming details of the policy and whether a decision to bring on yahoos to handle the firearm props lets them off the hook of paying a claim and fully sticking Baldwin/production company with whatever the tab ends up

The deceased's name is Halyna Hutchins.

And yeah, it seems like there's some huge legal exposure here.

So was the union ordered to leave, or did they leave voluntarily? Will they probably get sued as well for not providing adequate safety? This whole thing is a clusterfck

Yeah, I can't tell if the union members who left stated their demands, weren't awarded them, and then quit on their own accord - or - stated their demands, weren't awarded them, and were then fired by the producers.

Yeah this is going to get uglier, sadly. Baldwin is in real trouble on multiple fronts.

I don't think many people understand the combination of exhaustion, time pressure, and "We have to make our day" that defines many film and TV sets. So much needs reforming, but to start, do this. It's very doable. https://t.co/Tpn0lwAVBv

— Mark Harris (@MarkHarrisNYC) October 22, 2021

Troubling details from the "Rust" film crew:
>> There were two misfires on the prop gun last Saturday
>> The accident was ~ 6 hours after union camera crew walked off set
>> Hutchins was among those who raised safety concerns for her teamhttps://t.co/d462XbOWGB

— TheWrap (@TheWrap) October 22, 2021

In a series of scathing comments on Facebook, "Rust" crew member Lane Luper described the working conditions on as “absolute dog s—.”https://t.co/d462XbOWGB

— TheWrap (@TheWrap) October 22, 2021

Is this coincidental or (tin foil hat on) did someone set this up to help stress the importance of union demands in the film industry, never intending for it to result in a death?

The timing is REALLY odd.

It's so crazy how someone like Baldwin can have such a deep, illustrious career, be as serious as he was on screen at times, be as funny as he was on screen at times, be the Trump guy, be known as the exaggerated caricature of elitisms certain politically-obsessed minds hate so much - all of which gave him such a full identity, in the twilight of his career - and yet, now, in the blink of an eye, such a horribly tragic event will be THE thing that forever defines him.

I'm seeing a decent amount of speculation in that regard. Again, I seriously doubt it, but it's a surprisingly valid question at this point.

TCTTS said:

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I'm seeing a decent amount of speculation in that regard. Again, I seriously doubt it, but it's a surprisingly valid question at this point.

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Yes. The whole thing is playing out like it would be a movie plot itself.

This feels a bit like "Deathtrap" in that aspect.

maroon barchetta said:

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Is this coincidental or (tin foil hat on) did someone set this up to help stress the importance of union demands in the film industry, never intending for it to result in a death?

The timing is REALLY odd.

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I never underestimate the ability of people to be sloppy and stupid, especially when under stress. That is infinitely more likely IMO than someone basically committing intentional murder in a manner that carries a solid risk of being traced back to them.

As the Brandon Lee investigation exemplified, the history of this round is going to get investigated and uncovered in excruciating detail

Complacency and ignorance. That is how these things happen. Even to professionals.

Though all these new details definitely add some new winkles...

I don't think this is going to be a cut and dried accidental death after all. At least not to society.

This is getting nuts. Also, the "warrant" mention is in relation to a search warrant of the set...

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Warrant: Before fatal shooting, Alec Baldwin was handed loaded gun on film set by director who was unaware it was loaded.

— Zeke Miller (@ZekeJMiller) October 22, 2021

TCTTS said:

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It's so crazy how someone like Baldwin can have such a deep, illustrious career, be as serious as he was on screen at times, be as funny as he was on screen at times, be the Trump guy, be known as the exaggerated caricature of elitisms certain politically-obsessed minds hate so much - all of which gave him such a full identity, in the twilight of his career - and yet, now, in the blink of an eye, such a horribly tragic event will be THE thing that forever defines him.

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Time will tell, there have been a handful of celebrities that have accidentally (and not so accidental ) deaths on their hands that didn't define them.