This was an Old West, single action firearm like a Colt Peacemaker or a Winchester rifle. So WHY ON EARTH did he fire 2

We don't know if the guns used were accurate to the period of the film, but in any case, double action Colts were available in the 1870s.

I don't know if the footage will ever be available, but maybe both shots were in quick succession.

What I don't understand is why the shots were aimed at two directors. If Baldwin was firing in a general direction while being filmed from the front or sides, why fire at people? We were always taught to never aim any gun at a person unless we intended to hit them.


EDIT: Baldwin fired one round and it struck both victims.

Double-action revolvers existed in the "Old West" days (such as the Colt Model 1877 used by, e.g., John Wesley Hardin and Billy the Kid), and so did double-barrel shotguns and rifles. In both cases you only need to pull the trigger twice to fire two shots, and it can be done as rapidly as with a semi-automatic. For that matter, semi-automatic pistols have been around since the early/mid 1890s, the "Broomhandle" Mauser C96 being the most famous early one.

However, a blank can't kill someone except at point-blank range, and anyone who fires a gun loaded with blanks at someone at point-blank range should be arrested and charged with some degree of murder; in this case, one count of murder and one count of attempted murder. It's no secret that blanks can kill at close range.

Are you high right now? Yes, he murdered two random people in broad daylight....where everyone can see him.

one thing that is almost always a good idea is to park all of your hot takes until we actually get good detail on what's happened.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/prop-gun-fired-alec-baldwin-134318075.html

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2021-10-22/alec-baldwin-rust-camera-crew-walked-off-set

This puts some of this speculation to bed... but it raises many new questions, as well.

The article claims
a) there were numerous accidental discharges before this event
(does this mean there were guns going off without the trigger being deliberately pulled?)
b) at least a half dozen crew walked off the set due to safety concerns
(how high up did the complaints go and why were they ignored?)
c) a non-union replacements were brought in
(where any of these replacement people handling the prop guns or but in charge of checking the rounds?)
d) Alec Baldwin was one of the producers on the film
(how much pull and authority did he have on the film, did he complain about safety or support those that did?)
e) the shooting happened during a rehearsal between shots in which Baldwin was practicing his quick draw skills
(how far away was he from the DP and director when the discharge happened?)
f) the prop master had said it was not a "live" round, meaning there was no ordinance, blank or otherwise in the gun
(how likely is it for a blank cartridge to go through one person into another if it wasn't a real bullet?)

“where all the assholes of the United States and beyond go to get their advanced degrees in assholiness.”

It is a low budget junk movie. Do you really think that they really tried to be correct in everything in it.