On Wednesday, October 26, Santa Fe district attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies said that there are no concrete leads yet on the case but nothing, including criminal charges, are off the table for now. The case under investigation is of the unfortunate and harrowing incident involving the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, due to a prop gun misfire by Alec Baldwin that shook the film industry.
“Everything at this point, including criminal charges, is on the table,” Mary Carmack-Altwies told the New York Times, before her planned press conference regarding the investigation. She did not comment on who might be the suspect yet, or if Alec Baldwin is on that list yet, but she mentioned that they are not ruling out anything.
The investigation could take months, if not weeks, as they might need to cover more leads and interview further people involved. For now, their main concern regarding the investigation is who loaded the gun with the live ammunition and what type of round it was.
Before this conference, she also mentioned how the gun was ‘legit’, therefore the use of the term ‘prop gun’ might not be appropriate. The weapon has been identified as “an antique-era appropriate gun.” Earlier the production on the set of Alec Baldwin’s ‘Rust’ was halted, as the producer sent out a message that they were ‘pausing’ rather than ending or canceling it until investigations are finished.
“As we go through this crisis, we have decided to wrap the set at least until the investigations are complete,” The announcement letter said. The report released by the sheriff’s office stated that the incident took place while Alec Baldwin was pointing the weapon at the camera in a ‘cross drawing’ rehearsing scene.
Baldwin was co-starring with Jensen Ackles (Supernatural), for the Old Western ‘Rust’. Ackles wrote on his Instagram about Hutchins, her passion, and how much of an inspiration she was. “I’m not even sure where to start. This has been a tragedy of epic proportions that we are all still processing.” The post included wholesome pictures of Hutchins on set, as he added,” My heart and prayers go out to Halyna’s husband, son, and the rest of her family. There just aren’t enough words to express what an immense loss this is. She will be incredibly missed by all of us who knew and admired her.”
