Rust shooting incident

Rust shooting incident

Time	1:50 p.m.
Date	October 21, 2021
Location	Bonanza Creek Ranch, Bonanza City, New Mexico, U.S.
Coordinates
Type	Accidental shooting on Rust film set caused by a firearm used as a prop
Participants	Alec Baldwin
Deaths	Halyna Hutchins
Non-fatal injuries	Joel Souza

On October 21, 2021, at the Bonanza Creek Ranch in Bonanza City, New Mexico, U.S., cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was fatally shot and director Joel Souza was injured on the set of the film Rust after actor Alec Baldwin discharged a firearm used as a prop, which had been handed to him by assistant director Dave Halls. The incident is being investigated by the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office, the New Mexico First Judicial District Attorney, and the New Mexico Occupational Health and Safety Bureau. Production of the film was suspended indefinitely. The incident sparked a debate about occupational safety in the film industry and the use of real guns as props.

Background

File:Alec Baldwin (28246306070) (cropped).jpg

Actor and Rust producer Alec Baldwin

Writer and director Joel Souza conceived the story for Rust with actor and producer Alec Baldwin. The Western film was produced on a small budget of $6–7 million and was Baldwin's passion project. The film's distribution rights were sold for $2 million during the pre-production phase. As a result of the low budget, the production had limited resources and a tight filming schedule of 21 days. Filming began on October 6, 2021, at the Bonanza Creek Ranch in Bonanza City, New Mexico, a ghost town located near Santa Fe.

Responsible for overseeing all weapons on set was the production's property key assistant/armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, daughter of long-time industry armorer Thell Reed. Rust was Gutierrez-Reed's second film serving as lead armorer. On her first film, The Old Way, several crew members reported her handling of firearms, including an incident where she discharged a weapon without warning and caused lead actor Nicolas Cage to walk off set.

Dave Halls was the assistant director. In the aftermath of the incident, it was noted in the media that he faced complaints in 2019 about his behavior on two episodes of Into the Dark, in which he disregarded safety protocols, and ignored blocked exits and lanes. In the same year, Halls had been fired from working on the film Freedom's Path, after a firearm discharged unexpectedly on set, injuring a crew member.

Safety complaints and walkout

The beginning of Rust's production came amidst a potential strike by members of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) over working conditions and low pay. On October 4, it was announced that IATSE members voted 98.68% in favor of authorizing a strike, with a voter turnout of 89.66% of eligible voters. Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins supported the IATSE and planned to strike over dangerous working conditions days before her death. She wrote in an Instagram post: "Standing in #IAsolidarity with our @IATSE crew here in New Mexico on RUST."

On the set of Rust, crew members from the IATSE had been advocating for safer work conditions during filming. A crew member added, "We cited everything from lack of payment for three weeks, taking our hotels away despite asking for them in our deals, lack of COVID safety, and on top of that, poor gun safety! Poor on-set safety period!" The complaints also mentioned that a prop gun had previously fired three times unintentionally. However, the production did not launch an investigation into the accidental discharges and later claimed they "were not made aware of any official complaints concerning weapon or prop safety on set".

On October 21, seven unionized members of the film's camera crew began packing their belongings at approximately 6:30 a.m. MT in a walkout. They were told to leave the set, with a producer threatening to call the police, and were replaced by four non-union members. According to a statement given to TheWrap by an anonymous insider, several crew members took a number of prop guns off-set that day, including the firearm involved in the incident, to pass the time shooting at beer cans with live ammunition. After a lunch break, the prop guns had been returned. It is not clear if the firearms were checked again. On October 26, the Santa Fe County district attorney said these claims were still unconfirmed.

Shooting incident

October 21, 2021 was the twelfth day of a 21-day shoot, and the cast was rehearsing a gunfight that takes place inside of a church at the Bonanza Creek Ranch. Reed placed three guns used as props on a cart. Among them were a plastic gun that could not shoot live bullets, a modified weapon that could not fire any type of bullets, and a long Colt .45 revolver. The latter was selected by Halls, who handed it to Baldwin and announced that it was a "cold gun" to inform the rest of the crew that it was empty. Camera operator Reid Russell was situated on a camera dolly, looking at a monitor with Hutchins and Souza both nearby. The scene involved Baldwin's character removing a gun from its holster and pointing it towards the camera.

While the trio behind the monitor were repositioning the camera to remove a shadow, Baldwin began explaining to the crew how he planned to draw the firearm. When he removed it from the holster, at approximately 1:50 p.m. MT, the prop gun discharged a single time and the projectile flew towards the three behind the monitor, striking Hutchins in the chest and Souza in the clavicle. The incident was not recorded.

Hutchins was flown by helicopter to the University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque, where she was pronounced dead. Souza was driven by ambulance to Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center in Santa Fe, where he was treated and released by the following morning.

As a result of the incident, production on Rust was suspended indefinitely.

Investigation

AlecBaldwin(HABF) 15px Twitter @AlecBaldwin

There are no words to convey my shock and sadness regarding the tragic accident that took the life of Halyna Hutchins, a wife, mother and deeply admired colleague of ours. I'm fully cooperating with the police investigation to address how this tragedy occurred and I am in touch with her husband, offering my support to him and his family. My heart is broken for her husband, their son, and all who knew and loved Halyna.

October 22, 2021

The Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office said it was investigating "what type of projectile was discharged" and how the event occurred. Baldwin was questioned and left without charges filed.

On October 22, Baldwin sent out a tweet expressing his shock and sadness. He also indicated his full cooperation in the ongoing police investigation regarding the incident, which the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office confirmed. On October 22, the Santa Fe County Magistrate issued two search warrants. In an affidavit, the Sheriff's Office said neither Halls nor Baldwin knew the prop gun was loaded.

The Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office is conducting an investigation and intends to refer any appropriate charges to prosecutors. On October 27, the department said they had recovered over 600 items as evidence, including "500 rounds of ammunition ... a mix of blanks, dummy rounds and, what we are suspecting are live rounds." They added that a projectile had been recovered from Souza's shoulder, which they categorized as a "suspected live round."

The incident is also under investigation by the state's First Judicial District Attorney, as well as the New Mexico Occupational Health and Safety Bureau. The film's production company, Rust Movie Productions, is conducting an internal review. On October 26, the film's producers revealed they had hired a legal team from Jenner & Block to conduct an investigation and interview the cast and crew about the incident. On the same day, women's rights attorney Gloria Allred and her law firm Allred, Maroko & Goldberg were confirmed to be investigating the incident and representing Rust script supervisor Mamie Mitchell.

Reactions

The International Cinematographers Guild announced it would hold a candlelight vigil on the evenings of October 23 and 24 for Hutchins. The Guild additionally set up a GoFundMe fundraiser for Hutchins' family. The American Film Institute (AFI) announced that it would set up a scholarship program for women cinematographers in Hutchins' name. On 24 October, a vigil took place in New Mexico to mourn Halyna’s death. Industry professionals, including a number of Hollywood actors, were among those who attended the event in Albuquerque. Some attendees also called for better safety measures to be taken on film sets.

Prop gun debate

The shooting sparked debates about the use of guns used as props on film sets. Shannon Lee, the sister of Brandon Lee, an actor who was killed by a similar accidental shooting from a prop firearm on the film set of The Crow in 1993, called for prop guns to be banned, stating that "with all the special effects that are possible and all of the technology, there is no reason to have a prop gun or a gun on a set that can fire a projectile of any sort". Similar comments were echoed by others who knew Lee or had worked with him on The Crow. Bill Dill, a cinematographer who was a teacher for Hutchins at the AFI, also suggested using special effects instead, calling it "archaic" that "real guns with blanks in them" are used in film. On October 22, The Rookie showrunner Alexi Hawley announced that the show would ban live guns from set, stating that "it is now policy on The Rookie that all gunfire on set will be Airsoft guns with CGI muzzle flashes added in post."

The shooting sparked debates about the use of guns in films and television more generally. In an article for The Conversation, Brad Bushman of Ohio State University and Dan Romer of the University of Pennsylvania argued that "the gun industry pays production companies to place its products in their movies. They are rewarded with frequent appearances on screen," and that "the more guns there are in movies, the more likely it is that a shooting will occur – both in the “reel” world and in the “real” world." An editorial for the Los Angeles Times said the incident "raises the bigger issue of the proliferation of guns in shows and movies. Weapons are often part of plot points but do they need to be? TV and movie cops brandish and fire their weapons often, but in reality, a police officer rarely draws his or her gun (outside of a shooting range) in the course of an entire career."

Occupational safety criticism

The shooting also sparked debates about working conditions on film sets. In a speech at a vigil, IATSE vice-president Michael Miller said, "I'm afraid we are also gathered with some frustration and a little bit of anger. Anger that too often the rush to complete productions and the cutting of corners puts safety on the back burner and puts crew members at risk." In a Facebook post, the gaffer on the film set said that "to save a dime sometimes [producers] hire people who are not fully qualified for the complicated and dangerous job."

See also

• List of film and television accidents
  • The Captive, a 1915 film which used live ammunition during filming, resulting in the accidental shooting death of an extra
  • Death of Jon-Erik Hexum, a 1984 prop gun accident during the filming of Cover Up, involving a self-inflicted blank cartridge gunshot to the head
  • Death of Brandon Lee, a 1993 prop gun accident during the filming of The Crow, involving a propelled squib load