Criminal charges have not been ruled out in the case of a gun killing one person and injuring another on the set of Alec Baldwin’s movie, “Rust.”
According to legal documents, Baldwin, 63, was practicing a cross draw and pointing a revolver at the camera when it fired, killing a cinematographer on the movie set in New Mexico. Two witnesses saw Baldwin practicing the move in a mock church pew at Bonanza Creek Ranch when it discharged, killing Halyna Hutchins, 42, and wounding director Joel Souza, 48.
Santa Fe County district attorney, Mary Carmack-Altwies, said that criminal charges could still happen.
“We haven’t ruled out anything,” Carmack-Altwies told The New York Times. “Everything at this point, including criminal charges, is on the table…There were an enormous amount of bullets on this set, and we need to find out what kinds they were.”
So far, no arrests have been made in the case. The investigation, according to the public information officer for the Santa Fe Sheriff’s Office, Juan Rios, is ongoing. He told New York Post that anyone on the set that witnessed anything or has valid information should contact authorities.
Carmack-Altwies added that the word “prop gun” shouldn’t be used to describe the weapon used on the set, as it was a “legit gun” and “antique-era appropriate gun.” However, it will likely take weeks, maybe months, before and if authorities decide to press charges.
“It’s probably weeks, if not months, of follow-up investigation that we’re going to need to get to the point of charging,” Carmack-Altwies said.
“We have complex cases all the time. But this kind of complex case, with these kinds of prominent people, no.”
As CrimeOnline previously reported, witnesses recalled how “Alec was trying to explain how he was going to draw out the firearm and where his arm would be at when the firearm was pulled from the holster.”
One of the witnesses told police that on the day of the shooting, six camera crew members walked off the set due to issues with housing and payment. The witness also said the six crew members were threatened with security if they did not leave and were replaced with three non-union members.
The witness’ account appears to back claims made in an email prop master union IATSE Local 44 sent to their members on Friday — which stated that props, set decorations, construction, and special effects were not staffed by their union members.
The union also alleged that the weapon that accidentally fired contained “a live single round,” though it is unclear whether that bullet killed Hutchins.
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[Feature Photo: [Feature Photo: FILE – In this Sept. 21, 2015 file photo, actor Alec Baldwin attends a news conference at United Nations headquarters. A prop firearm discharged by veteran actor Alec Baldwin, who is starring and producing a Western movie, killed his director of photography and injured the director Thursday, Oct. 21, 2021 at the movie set outside Santa Fe, N.M., the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office said. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)
