Officials received updates regarding the ongoing case of Alec Baldwin, who fired a prop gun while shooting on the set of the upcoming movie “Rust” and ended up killing the photography director of the movie Halyna Hutchins.
The search warrant that Santa Fe County Sheriff’s office executed says that the crew members were preparing for a shot during the shooting requiring Baldwin to point his prop gun to the camera. Thanks to the light coming from the outside making a church shape shadow, because of which the camera had to be adjusted at a different angle. Meanwhile, Baldwin was demonstrating his scene with the director and cinematographer about how he would pull his gun and where he would point at, accidentally, the prop gun went off.
Joel Souza, the movie director, explained the scene, saying he heard “what sounded like a whip and then a loud pop,” and then he saw Hutchins, who was standing in front of him as he held her from mid-section after she got shot and stumbled backward.
After the gunshot was heard, Reid Russell and other crew members gathered and assisted Hutchins to the ground, as Russell recalls the injured saying, “I couldn’t feel my legs”.
Right after the incident, Hutchins was given the on-set medical treatment, and later she was airlifted to New Mexico University Hospital in Albuquerque. However, the former journalist and cinematographer were pronounced dead at the hospital. Meanwhile, Souza, who also got injured during the scene, was taken to the Christus St. Vincent Hospital in Santa Fe via an ambulance to treat the wound he got near his shoulder after he was released from there.
As per Souza’s statement, three people were carrying the prop gun for the scene. Dave Halls, the assistant director, handed over one of the prop guns to Baldwin and said it was a “cold gun“ before the actor held it. Everyone on the crew, including Baldwin and the two other injured, though the gun was safe to use for practicing. Russell and the director both noticed the camera was not ready for shooting before the incident took place.
Rust Movie Productions told the news outlets, “The safety of our cast and crew is the top priority of Rust Productions and everyone associated with the company”.
It added, “Though 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. We will continue to cooperate with the Santa Fe authorities in their investigation and offer mental health services to the cast and crew during this tragic time.”
