Alec Baldwin shoots and kills cinematographer on set of Rust

Not unlikely at all. Especially with one of those old Colts.

If the hammer snags on the holster, or you pull it halfway back accidentally with your thumb on the draw, you can absolutely drop the firing pin with enough force to detonate the primer - without ever touching the trigger.*



* I did a story a very long time ago with an old west show quickdraw guy, and (accidentally) fanning the hammer was part of the safety talk. We can get @Inky_Wretch to chip in here. He'll know.

 

As @Azrael mentioned, with the old "six shooter" style revolvers it's possible. Very, very, very rare but possible. Without seeing the pistol or how Baldwin was handling it, it's impossible to say for sure. I've got a couple of revolvers and I always carry them without a round in the chamber where the hammer rests.

That said, if a firearm is, say, sitting across a hunter's lap while waiting for a deer or some ducks to show up, the chances of him having the winning PowerBall ticket in his wallet are better than the rifle or shotgun firing without any human interaction.

 

While he says he didn’t pull the trigger, he admits to pulling back the hammer and releasing it. The hammer struck the shell casing causing the bullet to be expelled from the barrel of the gun he was holding into the body of the person he was pointing the gun towards.

 

I don't know how well-liked Alec Baldwin is -- I've heard/read mixed reviews of him -- and I don't know how well-regarded he is even as an actor.

But I feel sorry for him concerning this incident.

It's a horrible thing to have to live with, especially as there was apparent negligence and carelessness involved, probably on the parts of several people (including Baldwin).

 

Who is the clown filming Baldwin?

 

NY Post.

 

Today I went from not having ever heard of Jon Levine to thinking Jon Levine is a complete toolbag.

 

Bumping ...

 

Wonder if Hilaria would be allowed conjugal visits so she can round out the family football team.

If convicted, he's facing 18 months in jail, i.e., two full pregnancy terms.

 

Given that genuine accidents are a defense to involuntary manslaughter, I think they'll have a difficult time convicting him in the absence of some egregious fact that has yet to become public. It might be a little easier to convict the armorer and maybe the thought was both needed to be charged if one was going to be.

I could also see the possibility of Baldwin pleading to a probationary sentence out of a sense of guilt and/or not wanting the stress of a trial. That seems very unlikely to me, though.

 

This feels like one of those "I've got to protect my phoney-baloney job" DA decisions where they go ahead and file charges against everyone involved but hope the grand jury either returns a no bill to indict or they can plea bargain something with Baldwin's attorney as a slap on the wrist. Fine and community service perhaps.