Another Shooting

[neeneko]

Oh, so the teacher tried to take away his god given right to carry a gun? Well, clearly it was self defense then.

[Dave from down under]

Clearest case of self defense since Killer Kyle!

[Phoenix520]

I don’t think they’re trying to make it sound like an accident. They stated that he first pointed the gun at her. They didn’t say oops the gun went off in the struggle, they said ‘he shot her’ when she tried to take away the gun.

I have mixed feelings about this story and clearly not all the facts. The reporting leads me to believe he’s a little psychopath but it might just be me. ETA Or the reporting.

[Dave from down under]

He SHOT her!

Clearly not a psychopath!

But a gward luv’n PATRIOT upholding the CONSTITUTION against the woke socialist who would disarm ‘merica!!!

[RTH10260]

Finally a kid standing its ground against the tyranical woke teachers

[Flatpoint High]

That is a crazy story. I noticed that they refer to the 6yo as a "young man."

Teachers better think twice about giving homework over the weekends from now on...






Yeah, I know the way out...

"young man" is code for "black kid" until I'm proven incorrect. They only "adultify" children of color

[p0rtia]

Now, they are making it sound like an accident?

I hope the kid gets help.

For the record: The kid did not accidentally put a loaded gun in his backpack or accidentally take it out.

I hope he gets help too.

Part of that will be the arrest of his mother in the very near future.

That won't go far enough, of course. Every dam republican and anyone else who ever voted to proliferate guns in this country is culpable.

[sugar magnolia]

Now, they are making it sound like an accident?

I hope the kid gets help.

For the record: The kid did not accidentally put a loaded gun in his backpack or accidentally take it out.

I hope he gets help too.

Part of that will be the arrest of his mother in the very near future.

That won't go far enough, of course. Every dam republican and anyone else who ever voted to proliferate guns in this country is culpable.

Or accidentally aim it, or accidentally pull the trigger.

[RTH10260]

Police press conference - only temporary info - all as already reported above

► Show Spoiler

[RTH10260]

A School Official Searched The Backpack Of The 6-Year-Old Who Shot His Teacher After Someone Reported That He May Have Been Carrying A Gun

Clarissa-Jan Lim
Fri, January 13, 2023 at 10:18 PM GMT+1

School officials were told that the 6-year-old who shot his teacher in class had a weapon on him before the shooting, a Virginia school superintendent said.

At a virtual town hall meeting on Thursday evening, Newport News Public Schools Superintendent George Parker told parents that someone had reported that the child was possibly armed when he arrived at school the morning of Jan. 6. The first-grader's backpack was searched, but there was no weapon found inside, Parker said.

Parker also said that "at least one administrator was notified of a possible weapon in the timeline of events that occurred," Michelle Price, a spokesperson for the school district, told BuzzFeed News.

It's unclear who made the report and who searched the child's bag. The town hall was only made available to parents, WAVY TV 10 reported.




https://www.yahoo.com/news/school-offic ... 39823.html

(original: BuzzFeed News)

[RTH10260]

Prosecutors weigh options in fatal shooting by Alec Baldwin

MORGAN LEE
Wed, January 18, 2023 at 11:57 PM GMT+1

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A Santa Fe district attorney will announce Thursday whether charges will be brought in the fatal 2021 film-set shooting of a cinematographer by actor Alec Baldwin during a rehearsal of the Western “Rust.”

Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies said a decision will be announced Thursday morning in a statement and on social media, without public appearances by prosecutors.

“The announcement will be a solemn occasion, made in a manner keeping with the office’s commitment to upholding the integrity of the judicial process and respecting the victim’s family,” said Heather Brewer, a spokeswoman for the district attorney's office.

Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins died shortly after being wounded by a gunshot during setup for a scene at the ranch on the outskirts of Santa Fe on Oct. 21, 2021. Baldwin was pointing a pistol at Hutchins when the gun went off, killing her and wounding the director, Joel Souza.

Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza, who led the initial investigation into Hutchins' death, described “a degree of neglect” on the film set. But he left decisions about potential criminal charges to prosecutors after delivering the results of a yearlong investigation in October. That report did not specify how live ammunition wound up on the film set.

Taking control of the investigation, Carmack-Altwies was granted an emergency $300,000 request for the state to pay for a special prosecutor, special investigator and other experts and personnel.

Baldwin — known for his roles in “30 Rock” and “The Hunt for Red October” and his impression of former President Donald Trump on “Saturday Night Live” — has described the killing of Hutchins as a “tragic accident.”

He has sought to clear his name by suing people involved in handling and supplying the loaded gun that was handed to him on set. Baldwin, also a co-producer on “Rust,” said he was told the gun was safe.

In his lawsuit, Baldwin said that while working on camera angles with Hutchins during rehearsal for a scene, he pointed the gun in her direction and pulled back and released the hammer of the gun, which discharged.

New Mexico’s Office of the Medical Investigator determined the shooting was an accident following the completion of an autopsy and a review of law enforcement reports.




https://www.yahoo.com/news/prosecutors- ... 11068.html

[Suranis]

Very interesting video on the damage and effect of the Substation attack in Dec 2022. The one everyone instantly decided was done to stop a Drag show.

He talks about what actually happened, how the damage affected the area and how it was done, and suggests ways to counter the increasing amount of shootings on Electricity stations across the country.

[raison de arizona]

Baldwin and the armorer are being charged with involuntary manslaughter.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/19/arts ... ldwin.html

Prosecutors said they would charge him with involuntary manslaughter, saying that he had a duty to ensure that the gun and the bullets were properly checked, and that he should never have pointed it at anyone. “You should not point a gun at someone that you’re not willing to shoot,” the district attorney for Santa Fe County, Mary Carmack-Altwies, said in an interview. “That goes to basic safety standards.”

Mr. Baldwin has long denied culpability, noting that he had been told the weapon he was rehearsing with on the set did not contain live ammunition. “Someone is ​responsible for what happened, and I can’t say who that is, but I know it’s not me,” Mr. Baldwin said in a television interview last year. And he has said that he had been simply following direction on where to point the gun when it went off, killing the film’s cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins.

The film’s armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who was responsible for the guns on set, will also be charged with involuntary manslaughter. The film’s first assistant director, Dave Halls, who handed Mr. Baldwin the gun, agreed to plead guilty to negligent use of a deadly weapon.

“If any one of these three people — Alec Baldwin, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed or David Halls — had done their job, Halyna Hutchins would be alive today,” Andrea Reeb, the special prosecutor appointed by the district attorney, said in a statement. “It’s that simple. The evidence clearly shows a pattern of criminal disregard for safety on the ‘Rust’ film set. In New Mexico, there is no room for film sets that don’t take our state’s commitment to gun safety and public safety seriously.”

Actors are expected to be firearm experts?

[RVInit]

Not only are actors not gun experts, but people who make movies are all in unions which specify very clearly "who does what". It isn't in the actors contract to inspect the gun personally to see if (s)he can recognize when a live round has been placed into a gun on a set that specifies by contract that ONLY blanks will be supplied by the ammunition supply company. It IS specified in the armorer's contract that SHE is the one who places the ammo in the gun and/or completes all inspections. Also, she had an armorer "mentor", who also worked for the ammunition supply company. Charging Baldwin is ridiculous, IMO. I hope to hell his lawyers insist on looking at all social media of all potential jurors.

[Suranis]

If Baldwin had not impersonated the Fat Orange Shit on SNL everyone would have wrote this off as an accident, same as when something similar happened to Brandon Lee.

That's what he is being punished for.

[Slarti the White]

If Baldwin had not impersonated the Fat Orange Shit on SNL everyone would have wrote this off as an accident, same as when something similar happened to Brandon Lee.

That's what he is being punished for.

Um... one could argue that there was negligence in Brandon Lee's death (and apparently his mother filed a lawsuit claiming exactly that and settled for undisclosed terms) and that the protocols for handling guns needed to be changed to prevent similar incidents (which I believe they were), but that case involved very different failures than the Rust shooting.

I'm somewhat surprised that Baldwin was charged with involuntary manslaughter on the grounds that he had "a duty to ensure that the gun and the bullets were properly checked, and that he never pointed it at anyone" in this case because, as I recall from discussions at the time, he absolutely had no right (nor the necessary expertise) as an actor to check the gun himself. As for pointing it at someone, it would seem that such is commonly required of actors in movies. Now, he was also a producer on the movie and therefore could be held accountable for negligence on the set, although it doesn't sound like that is the case here.

While I would agree that the DA seems to overreaching to charge Baldwin (given the circumstances, he is only responsible for HIS breaches of protocol -- again, as an actor), but I seriously doubt it has anything at all to do with his SNL portrayal of Trump. Not to mention the fact that David Halls has already pled guilty to a lesser offense and overall weapons safety on the set was the responsibility of Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, making an involuntary manslaughter charge for her entirely plausible. While I don't pretend to be able to discern the motives of the DA, the idea that she is such a die-hard Trump supporter (in a blue state) that she is willing to risk inappropriately charging an actor (who presumably will have high-priced legal representation) because of pique over a role that he played seems to be a stretch. More likely, she is charging Baldwin to avoid the appearance of letting the celebrity off the hook, knowing that he most likely will be acquitted due to what RVInit mentioned. I know that a DA can get a grand jury to indict a ham sandwich, but I also know that most DAs will only do that if they think they can convict the ham sandwich as well.

[RTH10260]

Alec Baldwin to be charged with involuntary manslaughter over 'Rust' shooting

By Andrew Hay and Brendan O'Brien
January 19, 20238:33 PM GMT+1Last Updated 17 min ago

TAOS, N.M., Jan 19 (Reuters) - American actor Alec Baldwin faces involuntary manslaughter charges carrying prison time for the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during the 2021 filming of Western "Rust" in New Mexico.

Santa Fe's top prosecutor Mary Carmack-Altwies said on Thursday that the film's armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, would also be charged with involuntary manslaughter.

Hutchins' family welcomed the announcement, while Baldwin attorney Luke Nikas said, "this decision distorts Halyna Hutchins' tragic death and represents a terrible miscarriage of justice."




https://www.reuters.com/legal/governmen ... 023-01-19/

[New Turtle]

Here is the DA explaining the decision to charge.

[andersweinstein]

I'm somewhat surprised that Baldwin was charged with involuntary manslaughter on the grounds that he had "a duty to ensure that the gun and the bullets were properly checked, and that he never pointed it at anyone" in this case because, as I recall from discussions at the time, he absolutely had no right (nor the necessary expertise) as an actor to check the gun himself.

My understanding is that anyone on the set where firearms are used has the right to check it. It might be more common for an actor to ask that someone else show him that it is unloaded. From this sheet of Actor's Equity Safety Tips For Firearms

Check the firearm every time you take possession of it. Before each use, make sure the gun has been test-fired off stage and then ask to test fire it yourself. Watch the prop master check the cylinders and barrel to be sure no foreign object or dummy bullet has become lodged inside.

As for pointing it at someone, it would seem that such is commonly required of actors in movies.

My understanding is that standard practice is to "cheat the shot" by pointing off to the side and pointing directly at someone is rare. From the same sheet:

Never point a firearm at anyone including yourself. Always cheat the shot by aiming to the right or left of the target character. If asked to point and shoot directly at a living target, consult with the property master or armorer for the prescribed safety procedures.

[bob]

The right to check and the duty to check are very different.

From the AEA factsheet:

Check the firearm every time you take possession of it.

This is where negligence comes into play: If an actor is required to check the firearm (or, perhaps more accurately, it is the prevailing practice) then not personally checking, and solely relying on the word of another, might be ... negligent.

"For completeness": CNN: Alec Baldwin and armorer to be charged with involuntary manslaughter after fatal shooting of Halyna Hutchins on the set of ‘Rust’:

Why 2 counts of involuntary manslaughter

Baldwin and Gutierrez Reed each face two counts of involuntary manslaughter so that a jury can decide which specific count may be more appropriate, New Mexico First Judicial District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies said.

If convicted, “they will only be sentenced to one count,” the prosecutor said.

In either case, a conviction is punishable by up to 18 months in jail and up to a $5,000 fine, prosecutors said.

But one count would involve a firearm enhancement, or added mandatory penalty, because a firearm was involved. In that case, the crime could be punishable by a mandatory five years in jail, prosecutors said.

[Danraft]

Were there not fingerprints on the shell casing of the live ammo?
Have I watched too much CSI?
The schmuck who put live ammo in the movie prop is the one who should be held accountable.

[andersweinstein]

The right to check and the duty to check are very different.

From the AEA factsheet:

Check the firearm every time you take possession of it.

This is where negligence comes into play: If an actor is required to check the firearm (or, perhaps more accurately, it is the prevailing practice) then not personally checking, and solely relying on the word of another, might be ... negligent.

I have a question about how the law applies in Baldwin's case. Suppose you are at a backyard party and somebody hands you a gun saying it is empty, and you take his word and point it at someone and pull the trigger. If it was not empty and your target died, I am sure you could be charged with negligence for not checking it yourself, as the one responsible for choosing to take this very risky action with a firearm based solely on the unverified word of another.

My question: what is it *in the law* that makes Baldwin's situation any different? I gather the relevant NM law about negligent use of firearms does not contain any exceptions for people on movie sets. So, while it is true, film production has evolved a system of roles and safety practices, and common sense says, I think, that an actor ought to be able to rely on them, still the argument would be that nothing in that system could relieve you of the legal duty to check as the one who ultimately points and pulls the trigger on pain of culpability for negligent use of a firearm.

[raison de arizona]

Were there not fingerprints on the shell casing of the live ammo?
Have I watched too much CSI?
The schmuck who put live ammo in the movie prop is the one who should be held accountable.

My understanding is that there never should have been live ammo on the set at all, and it was the armorer's job to ensure that.

[humblescribe]

I'm somewhat surprised that Baldwin was charged with involuntary manslaughter on the grounds that he had "a duty to ensure that the gun and the bullets were properly checked, and that he never pointed it at anyone" in this case because, as I recall from discussions at the time, he absolutely had no right (nor the necessary expertise) as an actor to check the gun himself.

My understanding is that anyone on the set where firearms are used has the right to check it. It might be more common for an actor to ask that someone else show him that it is unloaded. From this sheet of Actor's Equity Safety Tips For Firearms

Anders, you linked the rules for Actors' Equity. That is the trade union for stage actors and stage performances and the associated production crew.

Moving picture and television actors are members of the Screen Actors Guild. I would assume that there are procedures in place for using firearms in making movies and TV shows, but they may not be the same as for putting on a stage production.

There could be other unions at play on movie sets as well.

I think that ultimately there will be a plea deal for Alec Baldwin with no jail time, a fine, and some probation.

[Kendra]

https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/19/us/virgi ... index.html

The family of the 6-year-old Virginia boy who allegedly shot his first-grade teacher at a Newport News elementary school nearly two weeks ago has released a statement for the first time since the incident, lauding the teacher and saying their child has an acute disability.

“Our heart goes out to our son’s teacher and we pray for her healing in the aftermath of such an unimaginable tragedy as she selflessly served our son and the children in the school,” the Thursday statement, released by attorney James Ellenson, said.

The statement comes on the same day officials announced Richneck Elementary School teacher Abby Zwerner, who was wounded in the January 6 classroom shooting, has been released from the hospital.