Live bullet found in prop holster of actor Jensen Ackles on ‘Rust’ set, crime scene technician testifies
By Cheri Mossburg and Sandra Gonzalez, CNN
(CNN) — One of multiple live bullets found on the set of “Rust” by investigators of the 2021 fatal shooting was discovered in the bandolier of actor Jensen Ackles, according to crime scene technician Marissa Poppell.
Poppell disclosed the detail while on the stand during the second day of testimony in the involuntary manslaughter trial of actor Alec Baldwin, nearly three years after cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was fatally shot on the New Mexico set of the Western film.
Asked about the live rounds of ammunition that were discovered on set, Poppell said investigators found some on a prop cart, in a box of ammo and also in two prop gun holsters — the one worn by Alec Baldwin and another worn by co-star Ackles.
“Mr. Ackles, another actor on the set, turns out that he — as he acted, as he performed — had a live bullet in his bandolier, correct?” asked defense attorney Alex Spiro.
“Yes,” Poppell replied.
“You have no reason to think Mr. Ackles had any idea that was there, right?” Spiro continued.
“Correct,” Poppell said.
Ackles, known for his longtime role on the series “Supernatural” and Amazon’s Prime Video’s “The Boys,” was on set the day Hutchins was killed and spoke to USA Today about the tragedy in a 2022 interview.
“You can chalk it up to negligence or try to point a finger at anybody,” Ackles told the publication. “At the end of the day, it was a horrible, horrible accident that ended with a life. Unfortunately, those do happen all the time around the world everywhere. You don’t normally witness them like I did, and it’s certainly shocking and jarring. It makes you value life even more than you had.”
Ackles remembered Hutchins’ talent.
“We were only about a week and a half away from being done with that film, so there was a lot of footage in the can and she was doing something really exceptional,” he said in his USA Today interview. “She was an incredible talent, and I wish there was some way to get it out there to the masses, but I don’t know that that’s possible.”
Ackles is not listed in the IMDb cast credits for “Rust.” Actor Josh Hopkins took on the role played by Ackles, who left the project due to a scheduling conflict, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
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