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An aerial view of the film set on Bonanza Creek Ranch where Hollywood actor Alec Baldwin fatally shot cinematographer Halyna Hutchins |
Alec Baldwin was handed what was described as a safe โcold gunโ on the set of his movie โRustโ, but the prop gun contained live rounds when it was fired, according to details of the police investigation into the fatal shooting released on Friday.
The shot hit cinematographer Halyna Hutchins in the chest, and director Joel Souza who was behind her, in the shoulder, according to a county sheriffโs affidavit filed in Santa Fe magistrates court.
Hutchins died of her wounds and Souza was injured but has since been released from a local hospital.
The assistant director who handed Baldwin the prop gun did not know it contained live rounds, the affidavit by Santa Fe Sheriffโs Department Detective Joel Cano said.
Baldwin said on Friday he was in shock over the accidental shooting as reports emerged of walk-outs on the โRustโ set earlier in the week over unsafe conditions.
The star of โ30 Rockโ and โThe Hunt for Red Octoberโ said he was โfully cooperatingโ with authorities to determine how the incident occurred on Thursday.
Production on the movie was immediately shut down. The sheriffโs department said no charges had been filed and the investigation remained open. Baldwin voluntarily gave a statement about the shooting, the sheriffโs department said.
The affidavit was filed on Friday in support of a search warrant for โold Western style clothingโ worn by Baldwin that appeared to have blood stains, along with firearms, documentation, ammunition and cameras from the scene.
The search warrant was approved by a Santa Fe judge.
Cano said the incident took place at the Bonanza Creek Ranch, south of Santa Fe, during a rehearsal and it was not clear whether it had been filmed.
He said the prop gun was one of three on a cart outside a building. One of them was taken by the assistant director on the movie who went inside and handed it to Baldwin.
โAs the assistant director handed the gun to the actor Alec Baldwin, (he) yelled โcold gunโ, indicating the prop gun did not have any live rounds,โ the affidavit said.
As the investigation proceeded, questions were raised about working conditions on the set of โRustโ, a small budget Western movie of which Baldwin was both star and a co-producer.
The Los Angeles Times and Deadline Hollywood cited several members of the crew and others close to the production as saying six or seven camera operators had walked off the โRustโ set hours before the tragedy.
Both outlets also reported that there had been at least one previous misfire with the prop gun.
โWe cited everything from lack of payment for three weeks, taking our hotels away despite asking for them in our deals, lack of Covid safety, and on top of that, poor gun safety! Poor on-set safety period!โ one camera crew member wrote on a private Facebook page, according to Deadline.
Reuters could not immediately confirm the accounts. Rust Movie Productions did not respond to a request for comment on Friday but said in a statement it was investigating.
โThough we were not made aware of any official complaints concerning weapon or prop safety on set, we will be conducting an internal review of our procedures while production is shut down,โ the company said in its statement.
Baldwin, 63, on Friday expressed his โshock and sadness regarding the tragic accidentโ that killed Hutchins. In a message on his social media accounts, he said his โheart is broken for her husband, their son, and all who knew and loved Halyna.โ
The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) said in a statement that it was devastated to learn of the death of Hutchins, who was a member of the union.
Hutchinsโ representatives in a statement said they โhope this tragedy will reveal new lessons for how to better ensure safety for every crew member on set.โ
Hutchins, 42, who was originally from Ukraine, was named one of American Cinematographerโs Rising Stars of 2019. Her last social media post, two days ago, shows her grinning under a wide-brimmed hat as she rides a horse. โOne of the perks of shooting a western is you get to ride horses on your day off:)โ she captioned the video.
Known for his impersonations of former U.S. President Donald Trump on sketch show โSaturday Night Live,โ Baldwin has appeared in more than 100 TV and film comedies and dramas, and won Emmy awards for his role as an egotistical TV network executive in the satire โ30 Rockโ.
The accident renewed debate about whether certain types of prop guns should be banned on TV and movie sets.
Brandon Lee, son of martial arts legend Bruce Lee, died at age 28 after being fatally wounded in 1993 by a prop gun in an on-set accident while filming โThe Crow.โ
โI donโt understand why we would still use blank rounds in a day when you could simulate them,โ indie film director and producer Ben Rock told Reuters on Friday.
REUTERS