An electrician spoke out on Sunday about what he saw on the set of “Rust,” where a prop gun Alec Baldwin was holding discharged on Thursday, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
Serge Svetnoy wrote in a Facebook post that he was standing “shoulder to shoulder” when Hutchins was fatally shot on set in New Mexico. He went on to say that the shooting, that also left director Joel Souza, 48, wounded, was the result of “negligence and unprofessionalism.”
“I was holding her in my arms while she was dying. Her blood was on my hands,” he wrote.
According to Svetnoy, someone was supposed to check the weapon that was being used by Baldwin, 63, but that did not happen.
“There is no way a twenty-four-year-old woman can be a professional with armory; there is no way that her more-or-less the same-aged friend from school, neighborhood, Instagram, or God knows where else, can be a professional in this field,” the also wrote.
Per a warrant, a witness recalled how “Alec was trying to explain how he was going to draw out the firearm and where his arm would be at when the firearm was pulled from the holster” when the weapon fired in a mock church pew at Bonanza Creek Ranch.
Hutchins was reportedly fatally shot in the chest, and Souza, who was standing behind her, was wounded in the shoulder.
Svetnoy did not reveal what specific safety protocol was not being followed, but in an email sent a day after the shooting, prop master union IATSE Local 44 said props, set decorations, construction, and special effects were not staffed by their union members. The union also alleged that the prop weapon that accidentally fired contained “a live single round,” though it is unclear whether that bullet killed Hutchins.
“There were no Local 44 embers on the call sheet,” the union told its members.
Further, one of the witnesses reportedly told police that on the day of the shooting, six camera crew members walked off the set due to issues with housing and payment. The witness also said the six crew members were threatened with security if they did not leave and were replaced with three non-union members.
It remains unclear whether criminal charges will be filed in this case.
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[Featured image: Alex Baldwin/AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File; Halyna Hutchins/Instagram]