‘Rust’ Shooting: Gun That Killed Halyna Hutchins Was Used That Morning for Live-Ammo Target Practice

Crew members had gone “plinking” and returned the gun to the set, an insider tells TheWrap

rust alec baldwin halyna hutchins
Bonanza Creek Ranch in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where the deadly accident on the set of "Rust" occurred; (insets) Alec Baldwin, Halyna Hutchins (Getty Images)

The gun that killed “Rust” cinematographer Halyna Hutchins last Thursday was used by crew members that morning for live-ammunition target practice, an individual with knowledge of the set told TheWrap. 
 
A number of crew members had taken prop guns from the New Mexico set of the indie Western — including the gun that killed Hutchins — to go “plinking,” a hobby in which people shoot at beer cans with live ammunition to pass the time, the insider said.
 
The shooting happened just a few hours later, when lead actor and producer Alec Baldwin discharged a revolver after first assistant director David Halls confirmed that it was a “cold gun,” meaning that the gun did not have any live ammunition in it. 

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