The death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of “Rust” in Santa Fe County is being investigated by authorities. Here’s what we know thus far.
In October, a gun used as a prop by actor Alec Baldwin exploded on the set of “Rust,” a Western being shot in New Mexico, killing the film’s cameraman and injuring the director.
Investigators are trying to figure out how a live bullet got into the pistol Mr. Baldwin was practising with, why the crew members who examined it on set missed it, and why the gun discharged.
No one has been charged in connection with the incident, and investigators have not assigned culpability.
Here’s a rundown of what happened.
The shooting took place on set.
According to court documents, Mr. Baldwin was practising a scenario on Oct. 21 that entailed “cross drawing” a revolver and aiming it toward the camera lens, as the film’s director, Joel Souza, told a detective investigating the incident. The set, located outside Santa Fe, New Mexico, at Bonanza Creek Ranch, was within a structure that resembled a 19th-century wooden church.
Mr. Baldwin fired the gun, striking Halyna Hutchins in the chest and Mr. Souza in the shoulder.
Ms. Hutchins, 42, was taken to an Albuquerque hospital, where she died. Mr. Souza, 48, was transferred to a hospital in Santa Fe by ambulance and released the next day.
According to an affidavit supporting a search warrant request, around six members of the camera crew walked off the site hours before the filming because of working conditions. According to those engaged in the project, crew workers had complained to producers about lengthy workdays — frequently reaching 13 hours — and missed paychecks.
According to three former members of the film’s crew, there were at least two unintentional gun discharges on the set on Oct. 16, only days before the deadly shot.
Here’s everything we know so far about the firearm.
Sheriff Mendoza identified the weapon as a.45 Long Colt revolver manufactured by the Italian company F.lli Pietta.
According to the affidavit, Detective Joel Cano of the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office stated that Dave Halls, an assistant director on the set, went outside and removed the gun from a cart — where it had been placed by the film’s armourer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed — and handed it to Mr. Baldwin during a rehearsal. The assistant director declared it to be a “cold gun,” implying that it had no live bullets and was safe to handle.
It was unclear how the fired bullet wound up in the pistol. Sheriff Mendoza stated that the three persons who handled the firearm — Ms. Gutierrez-Reed, Mr. Halls, and Mr. Baldwin — were all working with authorities.
According to court documents filed in late November, investigators were attempting to determine whether Seth Kenney, who was supposed to provide blanks and dummy rounds for the production, may have also sent live ammunition.
Mr. Kenney declined to respond to The New York Times, but he told ABC News that it was “unlikely that they originated from PDQ or from me personally,” referring to his company, PDQ Arm & Prop.
Will anyone be prosecuted?
Although no criminal charges have been filed in the matter, Ms. Carmack-Altwies stated in October that they were still a possibility.
Sheriff Mendoza stated that Mr. Baldwin is a “active participant in this inquiry.” In January, the actor surrendered his phone to authorities in Suffolk County, New York, after detectives got a search warrant for the device, claiming it contained evidence.
Mr. Halls, an industry veteran who had previously been the target of complaints about his disrespect for established safety measures, was singled out in a 911 call following the shooting. According to an affidavit, he later informed an investigator that when Ms. Gutierrez-Reed opened the revolver for him to view, he did not verify all of the ammunition as he should have before passing it to Mr. Baldwin.
On April 20, New Mexico state authorities issued a report in which they reprimanded the makers of “Rust,” claiming that the film’s management’s carelessness to the hazards of handling weapons on site contributed to Ms. Hutchins’ death. The state also fined the production business $136,793, the highest allowable by New Mexico law.
Mr. Baldwin stated that he is not responsible for the shooting.
Mr. Baldwin talked publicly about the incident for the first time in December, in an emotional interview with ABC News, insisting he was not to blame and had not pulled the trigger of the rifle he was practising with.
“Someone put a live bullet in a pistol, a bullet that wasn’t even allowed to be on the site,” Mr. Baldwin said in the Dec. 2 interview. “Someone is to blame for what occurred, and I can’t tell who, but I know it isn’t me,” he stated.
Who was Halyna Hutchins?
Ms. Hutchins was praised by filmmakers as a professional cinematographer with an aesthetic sense who was highly devoted to her job.
According to her personal website, she grew raised on a Soviet military installation in the Arctic Circle and studied economics in Ukraine before enrolling in a journalism programme at Kyiv National University. Later, she studied at the American Film Institute Conservatory in Los Angeles.
Her family filed a wrongful-death complaint in New Mexico on Feb. 15 against crew members and producers, including Mr. Baldwin, accusing them of irresponsible behaviour and cost-cutting practises that put the crew in risk.
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