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Anyone thinking that someone who uses a firearm is not responsible to check it first needs to think again.
Remember those safety rules I've previously posted.
They should never be ignored.
And.
District attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies takes issue with the firearm used being described as a “prop gun,” saying that the terminology could give people the wrong idea that it was not a real gun.
Hopefully, this will go through with some oblivious film fans, too.
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Posted: |
Dec 2, 2021 - 7:00 AM
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By: |
jackfu
(Member)
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Update: NEW YORK (AP) — Alec Baldwin told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos in an interview airing Thursday that he did not pull the trigger on a prop gun he was holding on a New Mexico film set when it went off, killing a cinematographer.
“I didn’t pull the trigger,” Baldwin said. “I would never point a gun at anyone and pull the trigger at them. Never.”
Interesting comments, to say the least. It is possible, however unlikely that he didn’t pull the trigger. According to the sheriff, the gun is a modern replica of a single-action army revolver. So, it may/may not have safety features to prevent firing without squeezing the trigger. It should be fairly easily determined by testing it.
This is the main reason that it is common revolver safety practice to have the cylinder empty under the hammer to prevent an accidental discharge, should the hammer be pulled part-way back, then released, or something similar.
I'm no expert, but I do know how to use firearms. I own a couple of revolvers and the cylinder under the hammer is always empty.
As far as not pointing it at anyone, while he may not have done that intentionally, he would almost have to have directed it at the cinematographer while drawing it, perhaps swinging it toward her as she was in the arc path.
This sort of thing happens in hunting accidents, in that the shooter, while swinging the weapon to shoot at the target prematurely squeezes the trigger and hits someone in the path of the arc.
TheAvenger had previously commented that for quick draws, actors sometimes have the hammer already cocked before drawing the firearm. Sounds like this must be the case here.
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But who really remembers the fine details of something like that? I totally get Baldwin saying that he swears his finger wasn't on the trigger, but anyone else...? I can't even remember the immediate details of a car accident if I'm not in the driver's seat. My house burned down last year and my wife and I have different accounts of the events. The basics are in sync but not the details. There's a huge amount of emotion involved in an event of this magnitude. Shock obliterates a lot. If I were on the set and not in an official capacity to monitor Baldwin's usage of the weapon, I wouldn't be able to truthfully say more than "sorry, Alec, but all I remember was the gun in your hand and it going off."
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Posted: |
Dec 3, 2021 - 6:21 AM
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By: |
jackfu
(Member)
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According to The Hollywood Reporter: In the interview, Baldwin walked through what happened in detail, telling Stephanopoulos that they were doing a marking rehearsal, with Hutchins giving Baldwin instructions so she could line up a shot when they began filming.
“She was standing next to the camera, looking at a monitor … guiding me for how to hold the gun for this angle,” Baldwin said. “The gun wasn’t meant to be fired in that angle. I am holding the gun where I was told to hold it, which was right below her armpit. An angle that might not be filmed at all.”
Baldwin says that Hutchins told him to begin cocking the hammer for a particular shot.
“I pulled the hammer as far back as I could without cocking the gun,” Baldwin said. “I let go of the hammer and bang, the gun goes off.”
“Everyone was shocked … the gun was supposed to be empty. I was told I was handed an empty gun. She goes down, I thought to myself, did she faint?” he added. “The notion that there was a live round in that gun did not dawn on me until 45 minutes or an hour later.”
One of the potential safety issues for single action revolvers and the origin of the phrase "Going off half-cocked".
Also, some older revolvers have strong springs and the hammer is actually quite difficult to pull back to the cocked position.
So, perhaps he didn't squeeze the trigger, but raised the hammer far back enough so that when he released it, it struck with enough force to fire the cartridge.
First, how did a live round get in there?
Why did he just let the hammer fall so hard? Did he just let it go and hit nearly full speed and force?
To un-cock a revolver, one typically points it away to a safe direction, holds back the hammer (actually have to pull it back slightly further), then while holding the hammer back, squeeze the trigger gently and finally lower the hammer slowly until it seats safely.
It becomes more clear that numerous mistakes were made, some of them were Baldwin's fault.
The sad thing is that so many, if not all, were basic handgun safety violations that a trained team would have prevented.
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