Here's the link to the video by the professional prop master.:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TP1X5L-AufQFirst, I was encouraged that this guy made the point that this was not a "misfire." The gun functioned as it was designed to. However, he called it an "accidental" discharge, and I don't think it was that, either. Baldwin pulled the trigger. That wasn't an accident. He didn't intend to discharge a live projectile, but the discharge was not an "accident," it was intentional. It was a negligent discharge. The issue to be determined is: whose negligence?
Let's keep on with the video ...
"No live ammo on the set." That protocol was breached. That's the responsibility of the producer(s). And Baldwin is one of the producers, possibly the principal producer.
"Once you have your cart set up, you do not leave it unattended." We don't know if this protocol was being adhered to or not. It would appear that it was not followed, but we don't know that.
"No one should grab a gun except the armorer or the prop master." The AD (Halls) grabbed the gun off the cart and didn't check it in any way before handing it to Baldwin.
However, the prop master in the video then says that the protocol should be for the armorer or the prop master to take the
empty gun onto the set, to the first assistant director (Halls), and then clear the gun in front of him. The AD is supposed to handle and shake each dummy round to verify that it's a dummy. Only then are the dummy rounds loaded into the gun. "It's ultimately on the first assistant director to confirm that the gun is safe." Obvious fail here. Apparently NONE of the safety protocols were observed.