Multiple Accidental Prop Gun Discharges Occurred On Rust Set, Says New Report
A fatal prop gun shooting occurred on October 21 on the set of "Rust," a new movie starring Alec Baldwin, Jensen Ackles, and Frances Fisher. According to Deadline, Baldwin fired a prop gun that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injured director Joel Souza. A report issued on Friday, October 22, revealed Hutchins and Souza were standing behind a monitor when live ammunition discharged as Baldwin pulled the gun from his holster. Additionally, Baldwin was unaware there was a live round of ammunition loaded into the prop gun. Instead, he believed the prop gun contained a blank based on conversations with the on-set armorer. He released a statement Friday via Twitter, expressing his sadness and noting he was cooperating with the police.
Now, a new report published by The Los Angeles Times includes information about multiple accidental prop gun discharges on the set of "Rust" before the fatal shooting on October 21. Additionally, the outlet's story claims six camera crew workers walked off the set to protest working conditions mere hours before the tragedy occurred.
There were two accidental misfires involving allegedly 'cold guns'
On Friday, The Los Angeles Times issued a report focused on two stunning pieces of information surrounding the fatal prop gun shooting on the set of "Rust." The first piece: There were multiple accidental prop gun misfires before Thursday evening's fatal shooting, which killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounded director Joel Souza. The second: Multiple crew members reportedly walked off the set of "Rust" earlier on Thursday due to untenable working conditions.
Three unnamed crew members told The Los Angeles Times the October 21 accident wasn't the first time a weapon had misfired during production. Two of these unnamed sources witnessed at least two accidental prop gun discharges. Both accidental discharges, including one involving Alec Baldwin's stunt double, involved weapons that had been deemed "cold guns," which means they weren't supposed to have ammunition of any type, including blanks.
"There were no safety meetings," the person said. "There was no assurance that it wouldn't happen again. All they wanted to do was rush, rush, rush." The Los Angeles Times also cited a text message a crew member had sent to the unit production manager raising concern about accidental discharges: "This is super unsafe," the text reportedly said.
Rust Movie Productions released a statement claiming safety was its top priority. "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," the statement read in part, per The Los Angeles Times.
Production has been halted on "Rust." It is unclear when, or if, filming will resume on the project. The investigation into the accident is ongoing.