The report discusses what may eventuate under NM Statutes and discusses who might be seen as liable..
Death on a Movie Set: Ex-Prosecutors, Attorneys React to Alec Baldwin’s Shocking Prop Gun Shooting Accident
A deadly shooting on the set of the Alec Baldwin film “Rust” in Santa Fe County, New Mexico, has resulted in a debate among legal minds about the possibility and likelihood of litigation — even as many of the facts of the matter remain shrouded as of the time of this writing.
It remains officially unclear how a prop gun — generally outfitted with blanks — was discharged by Baldwin on a movie set. The gunshot managed to kill cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, 42, and injure director Joel Souza, 48. The accident happened at the Bonanza Creek Ranch, a stereotypical western film set used frequently by production crews on the southern outskirts of Santa Fe.
“We’re trying to determine right now how and what type of projectile was used in the firearm,” said Juan Rios, a spokesman for the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office, as quoted by the New York Times.
However, the New York Post, citing Indie Wire, said that a union which represented prop masters learned that a “live round” was fired. The union said its members were not on set and that local “New Mexico crew members” were, according to the reports.
Citing an anonymous eyewitness, the website Showbiz 411 said Baldwin “was in shock but composed” and “kept asking why he was handed a ‘hot gun.’”
“In all my years, I’ve never been handed a hot gun,” Baldwin reportedly said, according to the site.
The site, again citing the eyewitness, claimed the same bullet struck Hutchins first and then injured Souza.
Larry Zanoff, a weapons expert who has provided guns for films but who was not working on the production of “Rust,” told the Times that “television and movie sets prohibit the use of live ammunition on a set” as a general rule. He said staffers usually must remain 20 feet from the muzzle of a movie gun for safety reasons.
“This investigation remains open and active,” Rios said in an Associated Press report. “No charges have been filed in regard to this incident. Witnesses continue to be interviewed by detectives.”
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