Santa Fe County District Attorney Believes The Term 'Prop Gun' Is Misleading, Says 'A Legit Gun' Was Involved In Fatal 'Rust' Shooting
Santa Fe County District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies is weighing in on the fatal Rust shooting.
The District Attorney took issue with the term "prop gun" and believes it is misleading. "It was a legit gun," she told the New York Times. "It was an antique, era-appropriate gun."
Halyna Hutchins was killed on the set of Rust on Thursday, October 21, after Alec Baldwin discharged a firearm. He reportedly believed it was a "cold gun." Director Joel Souza was wounded during the incident.
"There were an enormous amount of bullets on this set, and we need to find out what kinds they were," Carmack-Altwies told the outlet.
The DA told the publication that the investigation is ongoing and Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office detectives are focusing on who placed the ammunition in the gun. They will also be looking at ballistics to determine the kind of rounds that were in the gun. "It’s probably weeks, if not months, of follow-up investigation that we’re going to need to get to the point of charging," she said.
Gun safety expert Tom Gresham also weighed in and said the term "prop gun" was "without meaning." "A prop gun can be a real firearm that's just used as a prop in a movie. People are making the mistake of thinking 'prop gun' means a gun that doesn't fire. That's not true at all," Gresham told Fox News.
"A prop gun is just a gun that's used in a movie that could be a live gun, or it could be an inert gun. So there's a lot of misunderstanding on that and people who think they know what that term means or getting confused by it," he explained.
- DA Investigating Fatal 'Rust' Shooting Of Halyna Hutchins Reveals She Knows Who Loaded Prop Gun With Live Ammo: 'So Many Levels Of Failures'
- 'Rust' Production Staffer Made T-Shirts To Ridicule Camera Crew Before Halyna Hutchins Was Killed In Accidental Shooting
- New Search Warrant Details Potential Source Of Live Ammunition In 'Rust' Shooting
Meanwhile weapons armorer Bryan Carpenter told Fox that the term "prop gun" refers to "a gun that's made out of rubber."
Carpenter said a prop gun is used when a real gun is not needed. "In other words, it's not going to be firing blanks," he explained. "You use them for stunt performers who are going to be coming through a window, or the gun's going to go flying across the floor in a scene, or they're having a fight scene where they're going to be hitting each other with the gun, or for rehearsals where a gun is not needed."
This comes after Dr. Leslie Y. Garfield Tenzer, a Pace Law School professor, told The Sun that she thinks it is unlikely that Baldwin will be charged with a crime.
Bill Davis, a former police officer turned prop master armorer also predicted that Baldwin will not serve jail time. "But he was a producer on this show, so the producers are financially responsible. Ultimately, those are the people that will be sued," Davis told The Sun. As previously reported by OK!, the Boss Baby star is the production company owner, so the possibility of a wrongful death lawsuit has not been ruled out.
