Tragedy struck the film set of “Rust” Thursday, when star Alec Baldwin discharged a prop gun in an accident that left the cinematographer dead and …
Tragedy struck the film set of “Rust” Thursday, when star Alec Baldwin discharged a prop gun in an accident that left the cinematographer dead and the director injured. An assistant director unwittingly handed Baldwin a loaded weapon and told him it was safe to use in the moments before the actor fatally shot cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the New Mexico set, court records released Friday show. Director Joel Souza, who was standing behind her, was wounded. The news sent shockwaves through the entertainment industry. But what are the legal ramifications of such an incident? “Proper compliance with safety issues on the set will be a large, general question that will be asked that may have a huge impact on any potential legal matters that may come from this case,” says Rachel Fiset, managing partner of Los Angeles firm Zweiback, Fiset & Coleman. “And then on the worst side of the scale, you could have potential criminal issues that would range from criminal negligence to intentional acts that may have caused this tragedy.” According to legal experts, law enforcement’s investigation into the incident needs to yield more details before questions about liability and criminal charges can be answered with certainty. But here are some things they say to expect. What we know about deadly prop gun shooting on ‘Rust’: Baldwin didn’t know gun had live rounds Though Baldwin discharged the gun resulting in Hutchins’ death and Souza’s injury, it’s unlikely the “30 Rock” alum will face criminal charges, especially if he didn’t know the firearm contained live ammunition, says Neama Rahmani, a former federal prosecutor who co-founded the Los Angeles personal injury firm West Coast Trial Lawyers. Juan Rios, a public information officer for the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office, told USA TODAY Friday he can neither confirm nor deny what type of ammunition was in the prop gun: “That information is one of the particulars that we’re trying to determine at this point – what kind of projectile was in that firearm.
