Fatal shots on the set
Dissatisfied employees: Investigators suspect sabotage while shooting a film with Alec Baldwin
In memory of those killed during the filming of the Western “Rust” hanging on the fence. Could the weapon used to fire the fatal shots have been sobotized?
© Andres Leighton / AP / DPA
Two weeks after the fatal shooting while filming the western “Rust” with Alec Baldwin, investigators speak of sabotage. Someone could have exchanged the dummies for live ammunition. The reasoning is not unfounded.
After the death of a camerawoman while shooting a film with Hollywood star Alec Baldwin, the lawyers of the gun master in focus brought “sabotage” into play. Someone could have put a live ammunition bullet in a box of harmless dummy cartridges to sabotage the shoot, attorney Jason Bowles told the Today Show on Wednesday. There were dissatisfied employees on the set who complained about the working conditions, Bowles continued.
The 24-year-old armorer loaded the gun with bullets from a box of dummy cartridges. How the live ammunition got into the revolver must be investigated, said the lawyer. At times, the weapons and ammunition on the set were not locked up, but were accessible to everyone.
Fatal shots possible due to inadequate safety precautions?
In the incident during the filming of the low-budget western “Rust” on a film ranch in Santa Fe (New Mexico) on October 21, chief cinematographer Halyna Hutchins (42) was fatally injured and director Joel Souza (48) at the Hit shoulder. Baldwin (63), who is the main actor and producer in the film, had fired the gun during the rehearsal for a scene. Investigations revealed that there was a real bullet in the Colt.
On the set, investigators came across three handguns and around 500 rounds of ammunition, including blank cartridges and so-called dummy cartridges that do not contain gunpowder. But there was probably also live (“live”) ammunition among them, the investigators announced last week.
The gun master has denied allegations of negligence on the set. She had “no idea” where the live ammunition found came from, the 24-year-old said in a letter through her lawyers at the end of October. An assistant director, who was also in focus, admitted that he had not strictly followed the safety precautions and only incompletely checked the weapon.