Member-only story
My State had its First Mass Shooting
It happened the same day Alec Baldwin accidentally killed a woman
On October 25th of 2021, something horrible happened on a movie set. Star Alec Baldwin and crew gathered on set in New Mexico to practice a scene for a new western called Rust. Assistant Director Dave Halls grabbed a .45 Long Colt Revolver, declared it a “cold gun,” (i.e. loaded with blanks), and handed it to Baldwin.
Baldwin needed to practice drawing the gun, so he sat on a wooden pew in an old church on location, held the gun in front of him, and squeezed the trigger. He pointed it at the camera, just as he would if they were rolling, and Director of Cinematography Helena Hutchins took her place behind the camera to practice framing the shot. Joel Souza, the film’s director, stood right behind her.
The scene started. Baldwin drew his pistol, pulled back the hammer, and fired. To his horror, a real, live bullet blasted from the barrel and killed Hutchins immediately. The deadly shot had so much force it tore through her and landed in Souza’s shoulder.
By complete accident, actor Alec Baldwin committed manslaughter. In the church, 16 people watched their 28-year-old colleague die.
