Featured Image Credit: Alamy
Topics: Film and TV, Alec Baldwin
Cameron Frew
A report following the fatal shooting of Halyna Hutchins on Rust has found that 'firearm safety procedures were not being followed on set'.
The cinematographer passed away on 21 October last year after being shot by Alec Baldwin's prop gun, which accidentally discharged. The actor had been ‘practising his cross-draw’ at the time of the incident, and he also shot and injured director Joel Souza.
A report into the incident has ruled that the production company 'knew that firearm safety procedures were not being followed on set and demonstrated plain indifference to employee safety'.
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Sky News has reported that Environment Cabinet Secretary James Kenney said: "Our investigation found that this tragic incident never would have happened if Rust Movie Productions, LLC had followed national film industry standards for firearm safety.
"This is a complete failure of the employer to follow recognised national protocols that keep employees safe. Employees should speak up about unsafe workplace conditions or report them anonymously to us."
These 'standards' include not bringing live ammunition onto a movie set, holding regular safety meetings when firearms have to be used in a scene and all staff 'refraining from pointing a firearm at anyone' unless they've spoken to the armourer or a safety consultant first.
The report noted: "By failing to follow these practices, an avoidable loss of life occurred."
As a result of the findings, New Mexico's Department's Occupational Health and Safety Bureau (OHSB) has imposed a $139,793 (£107,019) fine for firearms safety failures.
The report concluded that the production had shown a "plain indifference to the recognised hazards associated with the use of firearms on set that resulted in a fatality, severe injury, and unsafe working conditions."
According to the OHSB, the investigation took 1,560 hours to fully conduct, including 14 hours and the inspection of 566 documents.
Robert Genoway, chief of the New Mexico bureau, also said: “As a reminder, it is illegal for any employer to retaliate against any employee who alleges a workplace safety violation.”
In an interview following the incident, Baldwin said he didn’t pull the trigger, nor does he feel guilty for Hutchins’ death, believing someone else to be ‘responsible’.
He said: "I feel that someone is responsible for what happened, and I can’t say who that is, but I know it’s not me.
"I mean, honest to God, if I felt that I was responsible, I might have killed myself if I thought I was responsible. And I don’t say that lightly."
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