A video depicting Rust costar Jensen Ackles talking about gun training on the set of the film Rust has surfaced.
The clip was made between Oct. 15-17 during Ackles’ appearance at a fan event in Denver for his long-running CW show Supernatural.
The clip, in which Ackles describes a brief training session with the Rust armorer (the crew member in charge of prop firearms), drew a lot of attention following the accidental shooting Thursday on the set of the film which resulted in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and the wounding of director Joel Souza after Baldwin “discharged” a prop gun.
The video has now been deleted across the Internet. However, multiple media reports on the clip’s contents were issued by Twitter users and media before the take-downs.
In the video, Ackles allegedly says, “I’ve got a 6 a.m. call tomorrow to have a big shootout. They had me pick my gun, they were like, ‘Alright, what gun would you like?’ and I was like, ‘I don’t know.’ and the armorer was like, ‘Do you have gun experience?’ I was like, ‘A little.’ And she’s like, ‘Okay, well, this is how you load it, this is how we check it and make sure it’s safe.'”
Ackles added that he was told by the armorer that she was “going to put some blanks” into the gun. He was then instructed to “fire off a couple rounds” at a distant piece of land.
“I walk out and she’s like, ‘Just make sure you pull the hammer all the way back and aim at your target,’ I was like ‘All right, I got it.’”
There is no evidence that Jensen was part of the scene that involved the fatal shooting. The actor has yet to comment publicly on the accident or the video of his gun training comments, which may factor into future legal determinations on whether proper instruction was given to the cast members on the safe use of firearms.
According to multiple reports, a shocked Baldwin allegedly repeatedly exclaimed after the shooting incident that he had never before been given a “hot gun” (a firearm with a live round) on a set. Deadline has reached out to Jensen’s representatives.
A spokesman for the Santa Fe County sheriff said detectives were still investigating what type of projectile was discharged and how.
Baldwin spoke out via Twitter on Friday, saying his “heart is broken” over the fatal accident.
“There are no words to convey my shock and sadness regarding the tragic accident that took the life of Halyna Hutchins, a wife, mother and deeply admired colleague of ours. I’m fully cooperating with the police investigation,” Baldwin wrote.
