Alec Baldwin has been criticized for a gun control message he posted to social media in the wake of the devastating Nashville shooting.
On Monday, March 27, three nine-year-old students and three adults were killed at the Covenant School in Nashville - a private Christian elementary school - after a former student carried out a targeted attack on the facility.
Police identified the shooter as 28-year-old Audrey Hale, who was shot and killed at the scene. Hale arrived at the school armed with three firearms, gaining access to the building after shooting out the glass in a side door.
Baldwin then shared a screenshot on Instagram of a viral tweet from musician Peter Frampton following the traumatic incident, which read: "26 years ago, a gunman entered Dunblane Primary School in Scotland, killing 16 kids and a teacher. The UK govt responded by enacting tight gun control legislation. In the 9400+ days since, there have been a total of 0 school shootings in the UK."
Some fans believed that the 64-year-old actor's tweet seemed a little hypocritical, given that he is facing legal repercussions for a fatal movie set shooting that claimed the life of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins in 2021.
Baldwin was formally charged in late January with involuntary manslaughter and involuntary manslaughter in the commission of a lawful act over the incident, which saw 42-year-old Hutchins accidentally shot with a prop gun on the set of the movie Rust in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
The 30 Rock actor has maintained that he had not been aware that the prop gun he was holding had been loaded with live rounds and, as he was rehearsing scenes in front of the camera, the gun discharged and fatally wounded Hutchins. He has already vowed to fight the charges, with his lawyer calling them a "terrible miscarriage of justice," per Sky News.
Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who was responsible for weapons on the Rust set, has also been charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter. Legal experts believe that prosecutors will have great difficulty convicting Gutierrez-Reed and Baldwin without proof that the pair knew the gun had live ammunition but failed to take precautions.
When Baldwin posted the tweet screenshot to his Instagram account, netizens began commenting on the hypocrisy of the situation.
"Lol, bro you killed someone with a gun. You have no room to talk or say anything. How about instead you call and check on the kids that you orphaned…." someone wrote.
"Kettle, pot," another person added.
A further comment read: "Does anyone find it odd that Alec is posting on gun control??"
Someone else chimed in: "Is the guy that killed someone with a gun, lecturing people on gun violence? Well I guess he has first hand knowledge...."
The actor could face a prison sentence following the death of Hutchins, and to convict on involuntary manslaughter prosecutors must prove to the jury that Hutchins' death was the result of underlying negligence.
