Alec Baldwin film producers cop maximum fine over fatal shooting

Rust producers have been condemned and fined for safety failures in the lead-up to the star fatally shooting a cinematographer on set.

Alec Baldwin has insisted the weapon went off without him pulling the trigger. Picture: Mark Sagliocco/GETTY/ AFP

An American film company has been handed the maximum possible fine for firearms blunders on the set of Rust, which culminated in a cinematographer being shot dead by the actor Alec Baldwin.

Rust Movie Productions was ordered to pay $US139,793 ($188,000) after a scathing report by the authorities in New Mexico listed a series of safety failures, including two accidental misfires before the fatal shooting of Halyna Hutchins, 42. It found that complaints about gun safety by crew members had gone unheeded.

Baldwin, 64, who was also a producer on Rust, was pointing a revolver at Hutchins during preparations for a scene outside Santa Fe in October when it went off. Joel Souza, the director, was wounded. Baldwin has insisted that the weapon went off without him pulling the trigger.

Bob Genoway, the state’s bureau chief for occupational safety, said in the report: “What we had, based on our investigators’ findings, was a set of obvious hazards to employees regarding the use of firearms and management’s failure to act upon those obvious hazards.”

The report confirmed that the large-calibre revolver was handed to Baldwin by an assistant director, David Halls, without the consultation of weapons specialists. Regulators noted that Halls also served as safety co-ordinator and that he had witnessed two accidental misfires of rifles on set but did nothing.

Other crew members voiced alarm at the lapses. “The safety co-ordinator was present on set and took no direct action to address safety concerns,” the report stated. “Management was provided with multiple opportunities to take corrective actions and chose not to do so.” Investigators found that safety concerns were exacerbated by the production’s limited resources, with a shotgun twice left unattended and inadequate safety protocols to ensure live rounds were not brought on set.

Hannah Gutierrez Reed was employed as the armourer on Rust before she was reassigned as a props assistant. When she voiced concerns, they were rebuffed, the report found.

Baldwin’s lawyers said: “We are grateful to the New Mexico Occupational Health and Safety Bureau for investigating this matter. We appreciate that the report exonerates Mr Baldwin by making clear that he believed the gun held only dummy rounds.”

Investigations into potential criminal charges are still under way.

The Times