US outlet TMZ is reporting the gun was more than a prop – it was allegedly being used by Rust crew members for target practice away from the movie set with real bullets.Live bullets were also reportedly found by police being stored in the same place near blanks.It comes as the father of Ms Hutchins says Hollywod star Alec Baldwin isn’t to blame.As speculation ramps up whether or not police will lay charges over the shocking shooting, Baldwin has met with the husband and son of Ms Hutchins, the cinematographer who he tragically killed on the set of the Western drama.Ms Hutchins’ father, Anatoly Androsovych, has said the actor wasn’t responsible for her death.“We still can’t believe Halyna is dead and her mother is going out of her mind with grief.“But I don’t hold Alec Baldwin responsible — it is the responsibility of the props people who handle the guns.”Baldwin was seen tightly hugging Ms Hutchins’ husband Matt and the couple’s nine year old son Andros near a fountain at a New Mexico hotel after the trio had breakfast together at the hotel’s restaurant.It is the first time Baldwin has been seen since the film set shooting that killed Ms Hutchins, 42, and injured director Joel Souza, 48.He also attended an intimate, private memorial for Ms Hutchins alongside the grieving family and other members of the Rust crew.Trauma counsellors who had been called to the film set to support the crew were also present.Mr Hutchins hadn’t been expected at Baldwin’s hotel, but went to Santa Fe after travelling to Albuquerque where his wife’s body was taken.Mr Androsovych said Andros was “badly affected”.“The little boy has been very badly affected — he is lost without his mother.“Matt will decide if legal action is going to be taken.”A witness told the New York Post Baldwin looked “beaten” as he met with Mr Hutchins.“His body language was [that] of a beaten man, he was slumped, he looked aged,” the witness said.Baldwin had been staying at the property with his assistant for several weeks while Rust was in production.The International Cinematographers Guild is holding a public memorial for Ms Hutchins on Sunday evening local time.It comes as a Hollywood film expert has claimed Baldwin failed the most basic and important rule of gun safety.“Loaded or unloaded, a weapon never gets pointed at another human being,” said Bryan Carpenter.“Even on a film or TV set, he said “you never let the muzzle of a weapon cover something you don’t intend to destroy.”No charges have been laid over the incident, that has shocked the film industry and the world.Baldwin was heard to ask why he had been handed a “hot” gun for the scene, after he was told it was safe to use.Director Joel Souza has spoken for the first time since the tragedy, paying tribute to Ms Hutchins.“I am gutted by the loss of my friend and colleague, Halyna. She was kind, vibrant, incredibly talented, fought for every inch and always pushed me to be better.“My thoughts are with her family at this most difficult time.“I am humbled and grateful by the outpouring of affection we have received from our filmmaking community, the people of Santa Fe, and the hundreds of strangers who have reached out. It will surely aid in my recovery.”Legal experts have suggested Baldwin, the film’s’s executive producer, could face charges – even manslaughter.“As an executive producer, you are in a position of control and you can get prosecuted criminally,” he said. “It’s the equivalent of drinking and driving, meaning someone may not have intended to cause great harm but they do,” Los Angeles based lawyer Joseph Costa said.Documents filed at a Santa Fe court stated the gun was one of three that the film’s armourer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed,set on a cart for the scene.Ms Gutierrez-Reed, 24, had recently completed her first film as head armourer on The Old Way starring Nicolas Cage.Audio of a podcast Reed did for that film revealed she worried “she wasn’t ready”.She admitted: “I almost didn’t take the job because I wasn’t sure if I was ready, but doing it, it went really smoothly.”US media have reported Gutierrez-Reed once gave a gun to an 11-year-old child actor.the incident allegedly happened on the set of upcoming Nicholas Cage film, “The Old Way” and temporarily halted filming, sources told The Daily Beast.“She was reloading the gun on the ground, where there were pebbles and stuff. We didn’t see her check it, we didn’t know if something got in the barrel or not.”Gutierrez-Reed allegedly handed the gun to child actress Ryan Kiera Armstrong, forcing concerned crew members to intervene, the report said. The gun was then checked for barrel obstruction.
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