Here’s an interesting headline:
The sequence of events on set that led to Alec Baldwin accidentally shooting and killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins remains unclear but there are a handful of options.
…none of which are relevant.
Look, I know that Alec Baldwin has the mental capacity of a bag of cement, so all that follows below is wasted on him. But here are the simple rules which, had they been followed in sequence, would have prevented Baldwin from shooting an innocent bystander. They are universally known to us serious gun owners as “Cooper’s Rules” (after the late and much-missed Col. Jeff Cooper):
RULE I: ALL GUNS ARE ALWAYS LOADED
Had Baldwin known anything at all about guns (he clearly doesn’t), he would have checked to see whether the round loaded in the gun was live or a blank (they look completely different from each other).
RULE II: NEVER LET THE MUZZLE COVER ANYTHING YOU ARE NOT WILLING TO DESTROY
Had Baldwin not been a complete tit (he is), he would also have made sure that the gun was pointed in a direction where no one was standing, or else told whoever was standing in front of him to get out of the line of fire, even if he had made sure the gun was loaded only with a blank.
Cooper’s last two rules are not relevant to this tragic story, but nevertheless, here they are:
RULE III: KEEP YOUR FINGER OFF THE TRIGGER UNTIL YOUR SIGHTS ARE ON THE TARGET
RULE IV: BE SURE OF YOUR TARGET
And that’s all that need be said.
