Liliputin-4861

Now I know what smoking gun evidence really means ... "
Alec Baldwin

Liliputins. What, the heck, is this?
http://stihi.ru/2021/11/24/7101

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The term "smoking gun" is a reference to an object or fact that serves as conclusive evidence of a crime or similar act, just short of being caught in flagrante delicto. "Smoking gun" refers to the strongest kind of circumstantial evidence, as opposed to direct evidence. Direct evidence would be eyewitness testimony of someone who saw an actus reus (the actual alleged act), while connected events (the preceding chase, etc.) are considered circumstantial.

Phrase origin
The phrase originally came from the idea that finding a very recently fired (hence smoking) gun on the person of a suspect wanted for shooting someone would in that situation be nearly unshakable proof of having committed the crime. A variant of the phrase (as "smoking pistol") is used in the Sherlock Holmes story, "The Adventure of the Gloria Scott" (1893).

Extended meaning
In addition to this, its meaning has evolved in uses completely unrelated to criminal activity: for example, scientific evidence that is highly suggestive in favor of a particular hypothesis is sometimes called "smoking gun evidence".

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Alexander Rae Baldwin III (born April 3, 1958) is an American actor, comedian, and producer. He is known for his leading and supporting roles in a variety of genres, from comedy to drama, and has received numerous accolades including three Primetime Emmy Awards and three Golden Globe Awards as well as nominations for a Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and Tony Award.
In 2021, while on the Rust film set, Baldwin discharged a revolver used as a prop, which killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injured director Joel Souza. Baldwin was charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter in Santa Fe County, New Mexico in January 2023, but the charges were dropped in April 2023 pending further investigation. He was indicted again for the charge on January 19, 2024.

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2021 shooting incident
Main article: Rust shooting incident
On October 21, 2021, Baldwin was filming on the set of the upcoming film Rust, of which he was also a producer, at the Bonanza Creek Ranch in Santa Fe, New Mexico, when he discharged a gun being used as a prop, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza. This was reported in the press as the Rust shooting incident. The Hutchins family filed a wrongful death suit against Baldwin for his part in the fatal shooting. On October 5, 2022, Baldwin reached an undisclosed settlement with Hutchins' family in their wrongful death lawsuit.

On January 19, 2023, Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies announced that Baldwin would be charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter by the end of the month. He was charged on January 31, 2023. The elevated second charge was eventually dropped after his lawyers argued that he was being incorrectly charged with a version of the law that was not passed until months after the shooting, meaning that if he was found guilty, he would have faced a maximum of 18 months in prison. On February 23, he pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter.

In April 2023, lawyers for Baldwin announced that the criminal charges against him had been dropped by prosecutors. In a statement, Baldwin's attorneys said "We are pleased with the decision to dismiss the case against Alec Baldwin and we encourage a proper investigation into the facts and circumstances of this tragic accident." On October 17, 2023, New Mexico special prosecutors would announce that their findings indicated that Baldwin may be guilty of involuntary manslaughter. Rust completed filming in May 2023 and is currently in post-production. In 2023, Baldwin has been associated with four other film projects including Supercell, 97 Minutes, Atrabilious and Billie's Magic World. He also appeared in a cameo on Saturday Night Live in October 2023, in an episode hosted by Timoth;e Chalamet, making it one of his first live appearances since the Rust incident and first appearance on the show since 2021.

In January 2024, a grand jury indicted Baldwin on an involuntary manslaughter charge. The indictment provides prosecutors with two options for pursuing this charge: one based on negligent use of a firearm, and the other for felony misconduct "with the total disregard or indifference for the safety of others."

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Inside Alec Baldwin’s Indictment for Involuntary Manslaughter

Alec Baldwin was indicted on a charge of involuntary manslaughter for a deadly 2021 shooting on a movie set, but is he responsible?


Crew member yelled ‘cold gun’ as he handed Alec Baldwin prop weapon, court document shows
Chloe Melas
By Aya Elamroussi, Chloe Melas and Claudia Dominguez, CNN
 
Updated 8:58 PM EDT, Sat October 23, 2021


This handout image courtesy of Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office released April 25, 2022 and part of the investigative files, shows actor Alec Baldwin being processed after the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins at the Bonanza Creek Ranch in Santa Fe, New Mexico, October 21, 2021.
'Stunning turn of events': Legal analyst on Baldwin indictment

An assistant director handed Alec Baldwin a prop firearm and yelled “cold gun” before the actor fired the weapon, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza, according to a court document.

The “cold gun” remark was meant to indicate that the weapon did not have live rounds, according to an affidavit for a search warrant for the movie set filed by the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office and obtained by CNN affiliate KOAT.

According to the affidavit, Baldwin was handed one of three prop guns by assistant director David Halls that were set up in a cart by an armorer for the movie “Rust.”

Halls did not know there were live rounds in the gun, the affidavit said.

42-year-old Halyna Hutchins was tragically killed on the set of the movie "Rust" on Thursday.

Who was Halyna Hutchins? Tributes paid to director of photography killed by prop gun

But when the actor fired the gun, a live round hit Hutchins, 42, in the chest and wounded Souza, 48, who was nearby, according to the affidavit.

Hutchins was pronounced dead at the hospital after being airlifted, the affidavit says. A verified GoFundMe page created for Hutchins’ family raised more than $100,000 in less than a day. Hutchins is survived by her husband and 9-year-old son, the page says.

Before Thursday’s shooting, some crew members quit the production over concerns related to safety – including gun inspections and Covid-19 protocols not being followed, according to the Los Angeles Times and other media reports.

Three crew members who were on the set last weekend told the Times there were two accidental prop gun discharges before Thursday.


The rounds were accidentally fired October 16 by Baldwin’s stunt double after he was told the gun was “cold,” two of the crew members, who witnessed the discharges, told the newspaper.

The film’s production company told Deadline in a statement that it was not notified of official complaints regarding weapon or prop safety on set.

“We will be conducting an internal review of our procedures while production is shut down,” Rust Movie Productions, LLC said in a statement. “The safety of our cast and crew is the top priority of Rust Productions and everyone associated with the company.”

CNN has made multiple attempts to reach Rust Movie Productions for comment but has not received a response.

Armorer voiced doubt about experience level
Hannah Gutierrez, the armorer for the movie, had recently finished work on her first project as head armorer, she said in a September podcast interview.

Gutierrez was identified as the armorer who “set-up” the prop gun used by Baldwin, according to a search warrant issued by the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office Friday.

“I was really nervous about it at first,” Gutierrez said of working as head armorer on the set of the movie “The Old Way,” starring Nicolas Cage.

“I almost didn’t take the job because I wasn’t sure if I was ready, but doing it, like it went really smoothly,” she said in an interview on the Voices of the West podcast, which is dedicated to the Old West.

“It’s really cool… really badass way to start off a really long and cool career, I’m hoping,” Gutierrez added.

Gutierrez said her father, Thell Reed – a gunsmith, stuntman and armorer – started passing on his knowledge of guns when she was 16 years old. Though she studied filmmaking and aspired to act, she said, the transition to armorer seemed natural.

“I tried it with dad one time and then I noticed I had a really natural knack for it – growing up around guns my whole life,” Gutierrez said.

Her work as armorer ranges from teaching actors how to wear a gun belt to aiming and shooting, she said.

“I have to like just show them how to hold it straight, make it look like they’re aiming at something and also you have to teach them about the recoil,” said Gutierrez.

She added, “These blanks don’t really have regular like push back that regular bullets do. In order to make it look more realistic [I] tell the actors to create a little bit of recoil with their wrist.”

‘Make sure that the weapon is truly cold’
“Cold guns” aren’t supposed to be loaded, particularly during rehearsals, a weapons expert told CNN on Friday.

“You have to make sure that the weapon is truly cold, which means there should have been no rounds in there, period. And especially if it’s a rehearsal,” Bryan Carpenter, an armorer and weapons master in the film industry, told CNN.

A distraught Alec Baldwin lingers in the parking lot outside the Santa Fe County Sheriff's offices on Camino Justicia after being questioned on Thursday.
Jim Weber/The New Mexican
Carpenter added that while it’s acceptable for some actors to want to get a feel of a weapon during rehearsals, it’s crucial to ensure the prop guns are not filled with any rounds. He noted that weapons on sets should be confirmed “cold” by two people to avoid such tragic incidents.

Despite safety measures, fatal production accidents have happened.

While filming the movie “The Crow” in 1993, actor Brandon Lee, the son of Bruce Lee, was killed in a prop gun shooting accident.

Alec Baldwin, shown here in a photo taken earlier this month, stars and is a producer on the upcoming film "Rust."
Director of photography killed, movie director injured after Alec Baldwin discharged prop firearm on movie set
Even blank ammunition can be deadly if fired at close range. In 1984, actor John-Eric Hexum was playing around with a gun on the set of “Cover Up: Golden Opportunity” and died after putting the gun to his head and pulling the trigger.

Prop master Joseph Fisher told CNN on Friday that even when there is no “bullet” in a prop gun, there are still projectiles, including gun powder and gas which can be dangerous within a certain range.

Multiple agencies are investigating how this shooting happened
“Rust,” which was being shot at the Bonanza Creek Ranch in New Mexico, was starring Baldwin, who is also a producer of the film.

A 911 call obtained by KOAT offered a glimpse into the minutes following the shooting. A crew member told the operator that two people had been “accidentally” shot on set.

“We need some help a director and a camera woman have been shot,” a woman told the operator. “I was sitting, we were rehearsing and it went off, and I ran out, we all ran out.”

Baldwin on Friday said he’s in contact with Hutchins’ family.

BOSTON - JULY 20: Gun props for the production of "Coriolanus" lie on a table backstage during rehearsal for the Commonwealth Shakespeare production of the play on Boston Common. "Coriolanus," Shakespeare's most political play, echoes current events in the United States and abroad. (Photo by Tamir Kalifa for The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

Prop guns: What they are and how they can kill
“
There are no words to convey my shock and sadness regarding the tragic accident that took the life of Halyna Hutchins, a wife, mother and deeply admired colleague of ours,” Baldwin tweeted.

“I’m fully cooperating with the police investigation to address how this tragedy occurred and I am in touch with her husband, offering my support to him and his family. My heart is broken for her husband, their son, and all who knew and loved Halyna.”


According to the affidavit, all firearms and ammunition, cameras and computer equipment and the clothes worn by the actors at the time of the shooting were to be seized.

The set of the movie "Rust" at Bonanza Creek Ranch in New Mexico
Sam Wasson/Getty Images
Baldwin’s western-style clothes appeared to be stained with blood, according to the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office affidavit.

The New Mexico Occupational Health and Safety Bureau is also investigating.

“The production company reported the fatality and injury to OHSB last night, in accordance with workplace safety laws. OHSB is investigating the incident in coordination with law enforcement, the employer, and employees,” the agency said in a statement.

The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office also secured the shooting scene, spokesman Juan R;os said.

CNN’s Ray Sanchez, Melissa Alonso, Lisa Respers France, Kaylene Chassie, Kay Jones, Rebekah Riess, Sandra Gonzalez and Andy Rose contributed to this report.