Actor Alec Baldwin is seen training to pull his revolver on the set of the movie Rust in footage released by the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office.
The department distributed all files related to the ongoing investigation into the fatal shooting of cameraman Halina Hutchins on the set of the western.
Hutchins was killed on the set of the film in October last year after the gun Baldwin was holding was fired. The footage of the actor brandishing the gun was reportedly taken on the same day as the incident.
The film’s director Joel Souza was also injured in a shooting at the Bonanza Creek Ranch near Santa Fe.
Other footage shows Souza talking to police at the hospital about the incident and asking about Hutchins’ well-being.
Souza says he heard a “very loud bang” and describes the feeling of being “kicked in the shoulder.”
“I was on my ass and I look and see the camerawoman Halina Hutchins with blood flowing from her back,” he said.
The director also describes how gunwoman Hannah Gutierrez Reed handed the weapon to Baldwin, saying it was “cold” or “clean,” meaning it contained no live ammunition.
“There was a crash that was louder than I’ve ever heard coming from an empty angle before,” Souza told officers. Other videos show officers arriving on the set of the film to conduct interviews with members of the production team.
Aden Mendoza, the sheriff of Santa Fe County, said various components of the investigation “remain unclear,” including FBI forensics for firearms and ballistic expertise, as well as analysis of Baldwin’s phone data.
A report of the incident found that the film’s production company “knows that firearms safety procedures are not followed on set” and “demonstrates a clear indifference to employee safety.”
Rust Movie Productions was fined $ 136,793 (£ 104,810), the maximum allowed by law in New Mexico, after a six-month investigation by the U.S. Department of the Environment.
“Today, the sheriff’s office is releasing all files related to our ongoing investigation,” Mendoza said Monday.
“All files are related to the Rust filming site investigation and include footage from the lapel / camera of the deputies ‘and detectives’ desktops, incident reports, crime scene photos, inspection reports, witness interviews, videos and staff photos collected by time of this investigation. ”
He added: “Various components of the investigation remain unclear, including FBI forensics on firearms and ballistic expertise, along with DNA and latent fingerprint analysis, a report on the findings of the New Mexico Forensic Medical Service and the analysis of telephone data. Alec Baldwin, extracted from Suffolk County Sheriff’s Investigators
Baldwin’s lawyers say the earlier report “exonerates” the actor, as it shows that he “has no authority over the issues that have been the subject of the bureau’s findings.”
“We are confident that the people named in the report will be held accountable for this tragedy,” they added.
The actor continues to fight a number of lawsuits arising from the incident. The cases are being handled by screenwriter Mamie Mitchell, lighting director Serge Svetnoy and the Hutchins family.
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