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Sheriff Adan Mendoza and District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies: No charges yet
Photo: Andres Leighton / AP
After the fatal shot at the camerawoman Halyna Hutchins, the responsible prosecutor has not ruled out criminal proceedings against US actor Alec Baldwin.
"All options are currently on the table," said Mary Carmack-Altwies on Wednesday at a press conference in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Baldwin is "obviously the person who fired the gun."
According to the police, there was live ammunition in the gun that actor Alec Baldwin fired on the set of the western "Rust".
The investigators announced this at a press conference in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
The weapon is said to have been an ancient Colt.
The released projectile could be secured, said Sheriff Adan Mendoza.
There are indications that there was more live ammunition on the set.
However, further investigations are necessary for this.
Mendoza criticized the fact that there was apparently "a certain carelessness" in handling weapons on the set.
It is unclear how live ammunition got into the revolver.
The police seized 500 bullets on the film set, a "mixture" of blank cartridges, dummy cartridges and probably also real bullets, as Sheriff Mendoza said.
"We'll find out how they (the real bullets) got there, why they were there, because they shouldn't have been there."
Too early to decide on charges
Investigators had found 600 pieces of evidence during the search of the filming location, including three weapons and ammunition.
The investigations continued, District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies said.
It is too early to decide on a possible charge.
This does not only concern Baldwin: "At this point in time we are not excluding anyone," emphasized the prosecutor.
In the incident while filming at a film ranch in New Mexico, 42-year-old head camerawoman Halyna Hutchins was fatally injured last Thursday.
Lead actor and producer Baldwin had fired the gun during rehearsal for a scene.
Director Joel Souza was injured in the shoulder in the incident, but was able to leave the hospital a little later.
According to the Santa Fe police, assistant director Dave Halls is said to have taken the gun from a trolley that gunsmith Hannah Gutierrez-Reed is said to have previously equipped.
Then he handed the gun over to the actor Baldwin with the remark "cold gun", that is, allegedly not loaded.
Neither Baldwin nor Halls would have known the gun was sharp.
Baldwin was shocked by the tragic incident.
He assured the police of his full cooperation.
The shooting for the film "Rust" has been suspended until further notice.
ptz / kim / dpa / AFP