On Oct.21, actor Alec Baldwin and renowned cinematographer Halyna Hutchins were involved in an incident during the filming of “Rust” that left Hutchins with a fatal gunshot wound. Since this horrific event, Baldwin has been under major scrutiny, and the entire situation presents the question: how did a live round end up in a prop gun?
It seems that crucial safety protocols are not being taken seriously. This is not the first time something like this has occurred and if no changes are made, this won’t be the last. Other actors that have lost their lives due to improper gun safety on set include; Brandon Lee and Jon-Erik Hexum. In the months after the “Rust” incident, on-set safety protocols and proper gun training have been at the forefront of the discussion.
As of February 2022, Halyna Hutchins’ family have filed a wrongful death lawsuit. Baldwin has continuously explained that what happened on Oct. 21 was an accident, but admits no fault in the situation. Matt Hutchins, now a widower, explained that Baldwin should still be at fault. In an interview with Today, Hutchins stated, “…the idea that the person holding the gun and causing it to discharge is not responsible is absurd to me.” .
There has been no resolution in the case of Halyna Hutchins, no arrests have been made and no responsibility has been taken. This accident was completely preventable and it seems that there are multiple people at fault.
Hannah Gutierrez Reed is the armorer that was hired to handle all of the props on set. It is important to note that Gutierrez Reed had only worked on one other set, prior to working on the set of “Rust.” After the incident that occurred while filming, many crew members came out and spoke about how production was not taking the necessary precautions to protect everyone on set.
In an ABC news interview, Baldwin claims that he underwent 90 minutes of gun safety training from Gutierrez Reed. When taking any other sort of firearms training, it is said, time and time again to treat any gun like it is loaded. It is understandable that Baldwin was following the directions given by Hutchins, but there should be a new policy in place that has the actors check their firearm before every scene.
In an interview with the STAR, a background actress, Christina Rangel, discusses her experiences with safety protocols on set: “Everyone behind the scenes goes through security checkpoints to ensure the integrity of the set. Some productions even collect your cell phones so that no information can be leaked.”
These productions are obviously willing to go to major lengths to protect their content, so there shouldn’t be an utter disregard for safety protocols that are arguably much more important.
It is also interesting that there are prop alternatives for all other weapons used on sets, except for guns. Considering the dangers that go along with the use of firearms, there should be a realistic option that does not fire any live ammunition.
