Hollywood actor Alec Baldwin broke “the cardinal rules of firearm safety” on movie sets by pointing a gun at someone and pulling the trigger, a jury has heard. Baldwin is on trial in New Mexico for the involuntary manslaughter of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the movie Rust in 2021. Hutchins was killed when a gun held by Baldwin went off while he was practising a scene for the Western – which, in an unfortunate twist, is a story about an accidental shooting. The 66yo star of 30 Rock denies pulling the trigger or knowing it was armed, and he’s pleaded not guilty. His lawyers argued the film’s armourer loaded the gun with a real bullet and didn’t make it safe before handing it to him. “This was an unspeakable tragedy, but Alec Baldwin committed no crime… An actor playing a character can do things that are lethal,” Baldwin’s lawyer said. “These ‘cardinal rules’ are not cardinal rules on a movie set”.