The fatal shooting on a New Mexico film set this week occurred with a prop gun that may have been used with live rounds at off-site social gatherings, TMZ reports.
On Thursday, the actor Alec Baldwin fired a gun on the set of the movie “Rust “ that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injured director Joel Souza.
As CrimeOnline reported previously, Baldwin was allegedly told that the weapon was “cold,” meaning that it was supposed to not contain any live rounds.
But multiple sources told TMZ that crew members had used the firearm offsite for what was basically target practice and that live rounds may have been loaded into the pistol. This may provide an explanation for how live rounds ended up in the gun’s chamber, according to TMZ.
Sources also told the Hollywood news outlet that police found live ammunition and blank rounds being stored in the same space where the accident occurred, which might also explain the mistake.
Authorities have not officially confirmed any of the claims that TMZ reported.
In a 911 call following the shooting, the dispatcher asked a caller if the gun had a real bullet in it. “I cannot tell you that,” the caller states, according to KOAT-TV. “We have two injuries.”
Multiple staff members reportedly quit the production before the shooting because of safety concerns related to gun protocols allegedly not being followed, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Three crew members told the newspaper that there had been at least two accidental prop gun discharges before Thursday’s shooting.
The shooting has prompted several investigations into what happened, with new details regularly coming to light.
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Feature Photo: FILE – In this Sept. 21, 2015 file photo, actor Alec Baldwin attends a news conference at United Nations headquarters. A prop firearm discharged by veteran actor Alec Baldwin, who is starring and producing a Western movie, killed his director of photography and injured the director Thursday, Oct. 21, 2021 at the movie set outside Santa Fe, N.M., the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office said. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)
