The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office has released footage from a police camera since cameraman Halina Hutchins was filmed on Rust’s set.
On October 21, during rehearsals at the Bonanza Creek Ranch in New Mexico, a pistol exploded, which was inexplicably loaded with ammunition. The star and co-producer of the film, Alec Baldwin, held the gun, although he claims he did not pull the trigger. The bullet penetrated Hutchins’ torso and was buried in the shoulder of the film’s director Joel Souza. Hutchins died after being airlifted to a hospital in Albuquerque.
A search warrant later revealed that the film’s gunman, Hannah Gutierrez Reed, had loaded a Colt .45, believing the real bullet was fake. She then handed the weapon to first assistant director Dave Halls, who skipped the usual security check. Instead, he declared a “cold gun” to signal that the support was safe and handed it to Baldwin.
Camera footage shows Baldwin and Halls talking to a police officer about Hutchins’ condition. (At this point, Hutchins is still alive and being cared for by paramedics.) Baldwin appears to be cooperating throughout the video, telling the officer that he is the one holding the gun and offering to answer any of his questions.
Along with body camera footage, the sheriff’s office released a cache of other photos and videos related to the investigation, including Baldwin’s initial interview with investigators and footage from the rehearsal of the actor who handled the gun on set.
In a statement issued Monday, Sheriff Adan Mendoza said the department’s investigation into the shooting was still ongoing. Various components of the investigation remain unfulfilled, including FBI forensics on firearms and ballistic expertise, along with DNA and latent fingerprint analysis, (coroner’s) findings, and analysis of Mr. Alec Baldwin’s telephone data from investigators. Suffolk County Sheriff, Mendoza explained.
“Once these components of the investigation are provided to the sheriff’s office, we will be able to complete the investigation to refer him to the Santa Fe District Attorney for review,” he added.
As such, Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmac-Altuis has not yet ruled out criminal charges. “Once I have the opportunity to review the overall investigation, some individuals may be criminally guilty of his / her actions and / or inactions on the Rust set,” Carmac-Altuis said in a statement late last year.
Last week, the New Mexico Bureau of Health and Safety (OHSB) fined the film’s production company the maximum possible fine – $ 139,793 – for a number of errors in the safety of the set. In particular, the report accuses Halls of handing the gun over to Baldwin without consulting weapons experts on set during or after loading it. The report also said that Halls, who was the film’s safety coordinator, did not take action in response to two accidental dumps on the set before Hutchins was filmed.
“What we had, based on the findings of our investigators, was a set of obvious dangers to employees in terms of the use of firearms and the inability of management to act against these obvious dangers,” said Bob Jenoway, head of the Security Bureau. Labor, before the Associated Press.
Baldwin later issued a statement saying the OHSB report acquitted him of wrongdoing.
Just: A video from the set of the deadly film #Rust shows actor Alec Baldwin training to pull the gun he fired, killing cameraman Halina Hutchins. The full story tonight at @ KOB4 pic.twitter.com/ROfNwhgQo9
– Ryan Laughlin (@RyanLaughlinKOB) April 25, 2022
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