Actor John Schneider reacts to Alec Baldwin's prop-gun fatal shooting | 'Wake Up America' 

He's right on point. Gun safety education is SO important.

As a firearms Instructor, John. Did a excellent job in detailing what should happen. And yes there is no such thing as a accidental discharge, He is right on point when he said it was a negligent discharge.

I believe John Schneider is a patriot and a trustworthy individual. I've always been a fan.

They picked the right person to ask. John was right on everything. Had everyone followed the basic safety rules of gun handling, this wouldn't have happened.

Also proud to have John’s plethora of knowledge and gun safety in the film industry. AND how lucky is Louisiana to have him!!

John Schneider explains everything in great detail, then the reporter asks what can we do going forward? To John's credit, he didn't ask said reporter if he had been paying any attention whatsoever. Just love John Schneider!

WISH THEY WOULD LET THE INTERVIEW CONTINUE. JOHN HAS HIS FINGER ON THE PULSE OF THIS INDUSTRY & KNOWS THE INS & OUTS!!!!

Excellent interview with John Schneider. He’s right about everything, especially about it being negligence.

Loving how John tells it like it is… He is absolutely right…

John Schneider has made his point clearly and thoroughly. God bless the deceased's family.

I've worked my whole life with guns. Over 30 years of experience. First four things I learned. 1. treat every weapon as it were loaded. 2. Keep your finger straight and off the trigger till your ready to fire. 3. Never point a weapon at any thing you do not intend to destroy. 4. Be aware of what is beyond your target. That early education also thought me that there are no accidental discharges, only negligent. So I agree with Mr. Schneider it was negligence, especially on Alec Baldwin's part.

Great to have a discussion from someone who is an well-known actor AND knows guns and shooting pretty well. I can tell by the way he talks that he's very familiar with practical gun safety, and understands its value and necessity.

Why can’t we have more people like John in Hollywood. A man with common sense. These are a rare jewel in today’s world we live in.

John Schneider is such a class act.

John you are a true American. Great down to earth values.

John Schneider: "This was NOT a prop gun." Banner: "Alec Baldwin fires prop gun..."

Schneider Freakin' Rocks!... He tells it like it is... He honestly seems to be sincere and a bit more "Down to Earth" than 99% of the "Hollywood Types"... He will tell you how it is reguardless... I will always be a fan....

I could have listened to John Schneider for about 10 more minutes. Seems he’s very aware of what gun safety on set should look like.

Having worked on sets in roles with "guns" that I "fired" JOHN is Spot on!!!! This is absolutely Negligent and I'm sorry but never should be possible, and there MUST be consequences!

I love johns response. He’s trustworthy patriot & knows EXACTLY what he is talking about!!!

They should investigate it like a homicide just like they’d do for any poor person in the same situation.

Yeah when I first heard this I literally said out loud "Why would they have live rounds on a movie set??" There is something off about this whole event.

"Is this an accident or neglect?" -- I was 4-6 years old in the early 1980s. My grandfather refused to hide, lock up, or nerf his firearms with trigger locks. What he did instead was pass his 1920s farming upbringing and some of his WWII Basic Training on to his toddler grandchildren. Lesson 1: "NEVER point a gun at anything you don't intend to kill." Doesn't matter if it's unloaded and you checked it. Doesn't matter if your finger is off the trigger. Lesson 2: "The gun is ALWAYS loaded until you check it yourself." He would hand me a gun, and if I failed to drop the magazine or open the cylinder or chamber as my first act then he would stop me and ask if it was loaded. Lesson 3: "The first time the gun comes into your hands, it is loaded until you check it yourself." He would hand me a gun, and when I correctly checked to ensure that there was nothing under the hammer he would ask me to hand it back to him. He would hold it while talking or telling a joke, then offer it back to me, and when I took it from him the correct procedure was to immediately check the cylinder or magazine and open the chamber. Why? Because it had just come into my hands. Lesson 4: "Check the barrel." Once it was well-drilled to ensure the weapon was unloaded, it became most important to learn to check the barrel while checking the chamber. "NEVER FROM THE FRONT!" Always from the back-end of the barrel, through the opening from the cylinder or chamber. After that it was disassembly for cleaning and maintenance, and reassembly, always with close observation and always making sure to drill 1-4. When I entered a Hunter Safety Course put on by the local Sheriff a decade later, I was the only student including a few adults who scored 100% at every session. I had to correct instructors at several sessions. Oddly enough, it was 2 and 3 that the Sheriff's deputies (who instructed the classes) got wrong most, with 4 closely following. So let's be clear about Prop Guns: They are guns. A prop gun is no different than any other gun. It's intended to shoot blanks, but it's still a high-pressure chamber with an exhaust tube attached and it takes munitions. If Alec Baldwin's parents and grandparents had been worth half a spit, then Alec Baldwin would have checked the magazine or cylinder, would have checked the chamber and the barrel, and would not have killed one and wounded another. The same can be said of the prop crew, who will certainly get the blame for this, but the fact is that the one and only person responsible for ensuring that the gun was safe and in working order (and for ensuring that it was not pointed at anything which he did not intend to kill) was the halfwit who didn't check it before he pointed it at someone and pulled the trigger. So I call this "A Baldwin Problem."

Totally agree with John!! Thank you for your imput!! I feel so sad for the family!!

John, I think you upset them just a bit with your true and valid expertise on the subject. I don't think she liked hearing criminal negligence. But that was the best expert interview I've ever heard. The so called experts they usually interview, are unwilling to state the hard facts unless they don't like the person due to political views. Glad to see you didn't water that down.

I was always taught that there is no such thing as an unloaded gun you treat every single gun that you ever touch as if it were loaded. That means never point a gun unloaded or loaded anything that you don't intend to shoot at.

Exactly. Thank you for thoroughly describing that, John! God be with Halyna's family.

John Schneider nailed it. This CAN NOT have happened without gross negligence. First, because movie sets should no longer be using real firearms at all; for, as illustrated by John's "finger shooting," digital effects are more-than-sufficient to produce any desired gunshot visuals WITHOUT any actual powder-burning cartridges, or even any blanks. "Digital Post" is crazy-cheap these days...not, maybe, for dinosaurs and space battles, but very much so for something as trivial as gunshots. Secondly, because even before the era of digital effects, proper firearms safety protocols on set would prevent a live round from being chambered in a firearm through the sheer overkill of checking, rechecking, and dry-firing. (Like John said.) It is absurd that the weapon ever made it to Baldwin's hand without a minimum of three checks and two dry-fires. Thirdly, because any adult human -- hell, any upper-order juvenile primate -- is supposed to know at an INDIVIDUAL level the four basic rules of firearm safety, and to practice them EVERY time: 1. Every gun is always treated as if it were loaded. Yes, ALWAYS. Doesn't matter if someone told you it was empty, or "cold," or whatever. If you're about to do something where the gun's being-loaded would be bad, you CHECK it. In fact, you check it TWICE, because in some guns, racking the slide the FIRST time might show you an empty chamber, and then accidentally chamber a round stripped off the magazine as the slide closes. So, you rack it once, while checking. Then you rack it AGAIN, while checking. You can also just remove the slide and rack it a few times rapidly. The point is: Until you check it, twice or more, it's loaded. If you just checked it and found it empty, that's fine until you glance away; but if you glanced away a half-second and then glanced back, guess what? It's now considered loaded again, unless you check it again. 2. Never point a gun, even a supposedly "empty" one, at anything you're not intending to permanently destroy, right now. 3. You may not point your gun at your target until you have positively identified your target, and are certain there's nothing between you and your target, and that there's nothing behind your target...or, in the presence of hard ricochet-friendly surfaces, nothing even anywhere near your target. 4. Keep your finger off the trigger until you are on target. Yes, that's right: Outside the trigger guard. No, you don't twirl it around cowboy-style, who do you think you are, Annie Oakley? Keep your finger off the frickin' trigger! Until you're on target! There are other rules, too, but those are the basics that you'd get kicked out of Cub Scouts for not knowing. Fourthly, what in the hell was this gun doing being pointed at the camera crew, let alone discharged in their direction? Was there a shot in which the audience was supposed to be looking down the barrel? Then it should have been a prop-gun (nonfunctional, no pin, stopped-up chamber). NO REAL GUN, even empty, is ever pointed at the videographer. It's not done! So what do we know about this event? We know Alec Baldwin didn't practice the basic firearm safety that every grammar-schooler, grandma, and golden retriever ought to be able to perform in their sleep. We know that the set lacked the basic set firearm safety standards that, as far back as Bogart, have been commonplace on every set from Saving Private Ryan to Sid & Marty Krofft. (Big-budget set, low-budget set, doesn't matter: Following the rules is cheap. It's the mistakes that are expensive.) We know that such firearm safety standards are to be established and instructed and monitored by the production's firearm safety expert, and approved, backed-up, and reinforced by the producers who hired him. Don't know who the "expert" was -- or even if they bothered to have one -- but the producers include...guess who? Yep, our buddy, Alec Baldwin. (This face I'm making? It's not my confident face.) We're told that Baldwin was told it was a "cold" gun (not a prop) and yet, somehow, he not only failed to question that ("Why'm I being handed a functioning firearm, when a nonfunctional prop would serve?"), but he also thought it was a good idea to point it at the videographer! And then squeeze the trigger! And, we know it wasn't even the first firearm mishap on that set, THAT WEEK. Yet corrective measures weren't taken. Such a pattern of negligence is almost unexplainable, apart from intoxication. Was that it? Were they all stoned out of their minds at the time? Sigh. I think the term I've heard for such cases is "Depraved Indifference"; but I'll let the lawyers chime in about that.

Alec was negligent in pointing it at anyone. Why aim and fire at non actors. Wasn't even part of the film. Alec was around when the prop / blank accidents in the mid/late 1980's happened. He knew about the tight regulations. He's a reckless man, guilty of manslaughter at least.

Don't let children play with firearms is the lesson here. Remember Alec Baldwin in 2017, "I wonder how it must feel to wrongfully kill someone..." Very well said, John!!

I agree with John Schneider. I consider him to be an expert on many levels, especially as a responsible gun owner. He makes so much sense in his analysis of the issue.

This is my first time watching Newsmax, and I have to say I am very impressed. John Schneider's expert analysis of this situation was both informative and fascinating; WELL DONE ALL

If Baldwin aimed the gun at her and pulled the trigger. At the very least he should be charged with Negligent homicide. But he seems to do things, and he always gets away with it. When I was little I had toy guns, my parents told me never to point a gun at anyone. I’m now an older man in my 60’s and still believe that you should not point a gun at anyone. Unless of course you intend to use it. Ignorance in handling a fire arm should never be an excuse!

John Schneider is absolutely a great personality!

I had the utmost PRIVILEGE of working in a musical (the Music Man) with Mr. Schneider. He is one of the MOST genuine, nicest and talented actors you could ever meet! Well spoken and extremely smart.

I trust Johns professional opinion. He is absolutely right this was criminal negligence.

That is the best expert interview I've heard yet on this subject, John really knows his stuff! I like how he also pointed out that a REAL gun with REAL ammo is not a "prop"... as everyone keeps calling it.

I am impressed with these hosts. They did not try to steer the conversation, they looked like they genuinely were interested in what Mr. Schneider had to say. That being said Mr. Schneider was 100% correct!!

Amen. As one who served in the Marine Corps infantry, I can tell you that there is NO such thing as an accidental shooting. This was negligence at the least. People get jail time for getting into car accidents, not under the influence of anything. So there's legal precedence for holding people legally accountable for accidents.

Absolutely, John. We need more voices like his!!!! Common sense!

We love John Schneider, absolutely love the dukes of Hazzard and love his music, we watch alot of his videos, he has very good points and is honest, a true American ❣️

I wholeheartedly agree with John Schneider. There is no place for live weapons on a set. Prayers for the family of this young lady.

John is a great American

Bottom line, when someone hands you a firearm you'd better have the knowledge and skills to be able to check whether or not it's loaded, and render it safe if it is. If you're going to make a living by using firearms in a movie you damn well should have those skills regardless of your personal attitudes regarding firearms if you don't you have no business handling one!

I agree with John. This is total negligence on Baldwin. No way this should have ever happened. He needs to be held accountable.

I heard a report that said Baldwin was saying, "Is this what you want"? And I suppose he was pointing the firearm at these victims when it fired!!! Yes, there needs to be a thorough Investigation!!!

Go John!! This man rocks.

Thank you for your great words Mr. Schneider.

Very well explained, John Schneider. This should never have happened.

Everything John Schneider said makes perfect sense.

I was a fan of Alec’s acting years ago but his nauseating politics in the past several years made it impossible to watch anything he ‘s involved in. Regardless, this is unfortunate for anyone and as John said, absolute negligence on multiple levels.

John Schneider is such a class act, if Alex skates from his responsibility for this “accident” another crime has been committed. I can’t wrap my head around the fact that Alex was talking to the husband/children so soon after this event, wouldn’t happen with me that’s for sure.

The News continuously reports this being a "Prop" gun. It may have well been an accident but I agree with John that it was negligence to be a loaded gun being brought on the set. Someone was very careless. It wasn't the gun's fault.

Mr Schneider, you perfectly explained it to folks who lack the proper training when handling a prop or real firearm. Since Brandon Lee death rules were place for a movie crew and apparently Alec Baldwin and the crew did not follow procedures that are in place to avoid these ass hole discharge. This Poor lady did not have to lose her life. 😢

"I have a strict gun control policy. If there's a gun around, I want to be in control of it". --Clint Eastwood

Amen. Speak for responsible gun owners!

Damn straight John, with today’s CGI technology, there is no reason for a real gun on a set except for police or security

If Alec Baldwin indeed said, "Why did you hand me a "hot" gun?", then he knew it was a real firearm, capable of being loaded, and hence should have never pointed it at anyone, ever... that's common sense, and in the movie industry if you for some reason had to point a real firearm at the crew, for some unknown reason, the first thing that I would do is find another way, the second thing is to make sure it wasn't loaded.

What a class act John Schneider is for explaining the whole prop gun to real gun protocol in the film industry. Also explaining that real gun or not real gun it’s never the guns fault, it’s the operator of the weapon. And I give John the up most respect for not being a Hollywood sellout like most famous actors or actresses this day in age. Staying clear of Hollywood politics is probably the reason John built his own studio on his property and is producing his own movies there and doing very well without being tied to Hollywood. You go John!

I want dukes of hazard ... -there was no cussing, respectful to policemen, had family values and love

Had Baldwin taken NRA training, or ANY basic firearm safety course, this would NOT have happened. Among the first things they teach you besides keeping your finger off the trigger is to CHECK AND CLEAR a firearm when it is handed to you, REGARDLESS of what the person handing it to him said. It's one of the first lessons of gun safety. But being an ANTI-gun person, Baldwin couldn't trouble himself to get trained. I bet he regrets that now. The fault lands on Baldwin, as he should have checked the gun.

God bless John. You are so right. Criminal negligence.

Really appreciate seeing an experienced person, John Schneider, comment on this tragedy. His history in the industry, as well as being an advocate of the Second Amendment, support the objective relevance of his opinion. I completely agree with his observation that this event was not an accident, but complete negligence, and should be investigated accordingly...and strongly suggests the question as to WHY a loaded weapon was in the hands of Alec Baldwin?

John Schneider you deserve all of your accomplishments my friend. You are a very genuine individual Sir.

Fantastic interview. I’ve never heard of the process of gun safety in the movies either. John was so very clear and factual. I hope they do the thorough investigation that he is encouraging. Prayers to the family

Very true what he said about this gun being called a “ prop gun” It was a gun !

John is totally right. I've been the armorer on a couple small films, and we ALWAYS make sure any firearms are empty.

Thank you, John Scheider. You said just what I was thinking.

“If guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have gun” I remember that from when I was a kid. Makes absolute sense to me. John Stossel from 60 Minutes show proved it way back when.

John Schneider is telling it like it is. He’s on point with everything. On a set safety has to come first. Just so sad that this happened and a bright star who brought so much to the entertainment industry was extinguished. Everyone involved must be hysterical with grief. All I can do is pray for all the families involved. You’re in my prayers. 🙏

John is right on point. It's great to see a gun savvy actor preach the truth. It's like I've always said, there is no such thing as an "accidental" discharge. When this occurs, it is a negligent discharge.

Well said John. How refreshing with a guy with insight in the industry actually bring up the facts of a matter. Negligence is negligence no matter how you spin it and no matter how many ghosts in a room firing a gun. Even if a ghost fired the gun like Baldwin would have us believe then who loaded the gun and checked it before aiming?

This sounds intentional and a set up. 🤔 Will anyone be held properly accountable? These days with all the lawlessness we've seen I doubt it. An innocent woman killed for what? Why?

John explains it thoroughly from experience and a safety standpoint.

This whole thing is just weird. Thanks John for setting the record straight and putting responsibility where it belongs. Much love and gratitude!

John Schneider...you are absolutely right, and thank you for explaining. The word accident...has no place here. You are so right. So right.

I've seen this on Newsmax, good information, good interview!

As a guy who has stood up for safety and faced threats. Thank you Mr. Schneider for speaking up. If you speaking up gives somebody else the strength to do so, even better.

Great Interview! I love how knowledgeable John Schneider is and gets the information out in the world....

As an ex- firearms instructor every point you mentioned on the wake up America interview was right on the money. Each actor, producer and staff on a production set where guns are involved should have a class on gun safety and should also be familiarized(actual shooting at a gun range)with the weapon whether real and/or a prop especially the person in charge of all the weapons. By the way Mr. Schneider, my wife and I were in Nashville the 27th of October ( my wife’s birthday)and did a golf cart tour. During the tour I spotted you talking with two other people and I shouted”John Schneider, Dukes of Hazzard”! You responded in kind “hey, yes”! And waved at us. Thanks for being such a good sport. Carlos & Maria Martoral.

I couldn’t agree more with John. I also couldn’t offer a better display of one of the many problems with today’s “news” outlets. For God’s sake, stop cutting guests off while they are making a point. He was invited for his expertise, allow him the time to convey it adequately.

Thank you John for defining a true “prop gun” . The last set I was on had replicated firearms with an electrically powered slide …. Spent shells and muzzle flash were added in post production. This incident is just another example of Baldwin’s carelessness fueled by ego

Well said. John is exactly right about this situation.

John is the man. Thank you for explaining all of this.

John explained this so well. Nobody could have explained it better. This should be a homicide investigation.

MSM needs to air John's interview. Of all the people talking about this, John is the most knowledgeable.

I'm ex-military and thought this would be how they took gun safety. It sounds to me like Alec picked up something he shouldn't have and they're trying to cover for him.

This was the most informative and fair level headed discussion that I have seen about this tragedy !

I'm a mother of a murdered child . This is heartbreaking. It's a tragic accident, that should of never happened, someone should be held accountable for negligence. My deepest condolences to the family and friends of this beautiful young lady. Rip. Halana.

When Cheney accidentally shot his hunting partner, Alec Baldwin tweeted that Cheney should be arrested. And furthermore why is anti- gun Hollywood glorifying guns in movies anyways?

Live rounds have never been allowed on movie sets, as safety has always been paramount. So straight to the point, this was not an accident. It's murder, period. The guilty will be exposed.

Senior drill instructor: "Whats the idea of looking in the chamber of this weapon?" Private: "Sir, to insure the private has not given the senior drill instructor a loaded weapon sir!"

The conspiracy theorist in me says that this was no boating accident, someone somehow somewhere down the line had some nefarious motive

There is no such thing as an "accidental discharge." It was a "negligent discharge.". And negligence is not accidental. It is deliberate.

FINALLY Someone in Hollyweird with a level head on their shoulders when it comes to firearms. Thank you and God Bless you @John Schneider.

I have always liked you and always will. Thank you for setting the record straight about prop guns.

Baldwin sounds like he thinks he’s not responsible. 🙄

Love John Schnider and his candid opinion. Thank you John.

Alec has been carrying around a lot of negative vibes for many years.

John Schneider did a good job sharing this information and I believe his intensions are good. Gun safety is mandatory for hunters but not actors? Something is wrong!