The US authorities have released initial details of their investigation into the accidental-fatal shooting of a cinematographer on the set of the movie ‘Rust’ in New Mexico involving actor Alec Baldwin. Baldwin, who is also a producer of the film, fired a vintage Colt pistol loaded with a ‘live lead round’ that led to the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins
In a briefing, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza and District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies said that it is too early to discuss charges but that charges would be filed if warranted.
Carmack-Altwies said, “No one has been ruled out at this point.”
Sheriff Mendoza said that the authorities have the firearm used in the shooting.
Authorities said that about 500 rounds of ammunition — a mix of blanks, dummy rounds, and live rounds — were found while searching the set.
The sheriff said that Baldwin has been cooperative in the investigation. Mendoza added, “He’s obviously the person that fired the weapon. Right now, he is an active part of this investigation.”
The sheriff also said there was “complacency” on the set regarding firearms.
Safety protocols
The shooting has stunned the Hollywood film industry, prompting a debate about safety protocols in film and television, including whether certain types of guns used as props should be banned, and working conditions on low-budget productions.
Authorities have said in court filings that Baldwin last Thursday was handed what he thought was a “cold,” or safe, gun by the film’s assistant director David Halls, who took it from a cart used by Hannah Gutierrez, who was employed to oversee firearms and their safety in a job called an armorer.
‘Live rounds’ in the gun
The gun instead contained what police called “live rounds,” and a shot hit Hutchins in the chest and Director Joel Souza, standing behind her, in the shoulder. Hutchins was transported by helicopter to the University of New Mexico Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Souza was treated at a hospital and released.
The lead round was recovered from Souza, Mendoza said.
The 63-year-old Baldwin serves as a co-producer of Rust, a Western film set in 1880s Kansas, and plays an outlaw grandfather of a 13-year-old boy convicted of an accidental killing.
As the affidavit suggests, the camera operators had walked off the set to protest working conditions, before the incident.
