The details of what happened in the set from rust are well known: A gun Alec Baldwin was holding during rehearsal for one of the scenes went off, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounding writer-director Joel Souza at the Bonanza Creek Ranch in Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States, on October 23, 2021.
After a long wait to find out what the legal consequences of the case could be, New Mexico authorities finally sanctioned Alec Baldwin’s unfortunate film, rustthis Wednesday with the maximum possible fine “for violations on the set that contributed to the death of Halyna Hutchins”.
According to a press release from the state Office of Occupational Safety and Health, Rust Movie Productions LLC was fined $139,793 for “mere disregard” and “willful violation” of known safety protocols in the film industry. “associated with the use of firearms on set that resulted in death, serious injury, and unsafe working conditions.”
Balwin stated in a December interview with abcnews that he was pointing the gun at Hutchins following his instructions in the set of the movie western in New Mexico when it went off without him pulling the trigger.
The new security report confirms that assistant director David Halls handed a large-caliber revolver to Baldwin without consulting with weapons specialists at the set during or after loading the gun.
Regulators say Halls also served as security coordinator and was present and witness to two accidental discharges from rifles at the set and that he and other managers who were aware of what happened took no investigative, corrective, or disciplinary action.
In a statement about the report, attorneys for Baldwin, who was one of the film’s producers and also its star, said the actor was “exonerated” for the shooting.
We are grateful to the New Mexico Office of Occupational Safety and Health for investigating this matter. We appreciate that the report exonerated Mr. Baldwin by making it clear that he believed the gun contained only fake cartridges. […] We trust that the people identified in the report will be responsible for this tragedy.