Gun safety protocols are rigid on film and TV sets. This ‘should never have happened.’
(msn.com)
SANTA FE, N.M. – Black-shirted security guards stand sentry at a weather-beaten white gate, a faded American flag flapping overhead in a cloudless blue sky.
Nearby, bouquets of wilting flowers are tied to a peeling post. This is the entrance to Bonanza Creek Ranch, where the magic of the movies vanished Thursday with the discharge of a prop gun.
Told the Western-style revolver was “cold” – safe to fire – “Rust” actor and producer Alec Baldwin shot in the direction of his camera crew, killing director of photography Halyna Hutchins, 42, and injuring director Joel Souza, 48.
Start the day smarter. Get all the news you need in your inbox each morning.
As the police investigation unfolds, much remains unknown about the accident: If there was a live bullet in the gun, how did it get there? Why wasn’t it discovered before Baldwin used the gun? And why was Baldwin not aiming it away from the crew?
While declining to speculate about what happened on the set, Hollywood veterans say even the most rudimentary of weapons protocols that are rigorously followed on most sets would have averted this rare catastrophe.
By: Marco della Cava
