Actor of "Who Killed Sara?"
talks about safety on film sets 0:58
(CNN) -
The Santa Fe County Sheriff said Wednesday that the gun fired by actor Alec Baldwin during a fatal shooting on the set of "Rust" fired a "suspected live bullet."
Investigators believe they have recovered the "lead projectile" and shell of the ammunition that struck and killed the film's cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins, 42, and injured director Joel Souza.
This is how Alec Baldwin's fatal shot happened, moment by moment
"The facts are clear: a gun was handed to Mr. Baldwin. The gun is functional and fired a live bullet, killing Ms. Hutchins and wounding Mr. Souza," Sheriff Adan Mendoza said at a joint press conference. between the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office and the district attorney's office.
About 500 rounds of ammunition, a combination of blank, dummy and real rounds, were seized from the set in New Mexico, Mendoza said.
He said they believe the lead projectile that was fired from the gun was recovered from Souza's shoulder.
A total of three weapons were seized near the incident, Mendoza added.
In addition to the one believed to have been fired by Baldwin, one was tampered with and not working and the other was made of plastic.
The evidence will be sent to the FBI for further processing, he said.
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Those who were close to the shooting have been interviewed and authorities hope to continue interviewing the more than 100 people who were also present in different parts of the set.
Baldwin, gunsmith Hannah Gutiérrez and deputy director David Halls have cooperated with investigators, according to Mendoza.
What happened
According to a search warrant affidavit, Souza said he was shot in the shoulder and Hutchins died while Baldwin practiced drawing a backup pistol during rehearsal for the film about the Old West at the Bonanza Creek ranch in Santa Fe.
The director told investigators that Baldwin was "sitting on a bench in a church set and was practicing a cross-drawing," the affidavit said.
A cross draw is when a shooter draws the weapon from a holster on the opposite side of the body from the hand with which it is drawn.
Souza also said that Hutchins "would complain about his stomach and grab his waist" after the shot.
Authorities said Wednesday they have recovered some images from the camera, but believe there are no shots of the exact moment of the incident.
The investigation focuses on discovering who put a real bullet in the weapon
Authorities are focusing on how a live bullet got to the gun, Mendoza told CNN's Anderson Cooper.
The sheriff said the people involved in the shooting have been cooperating with investigators and he hopes that follow-up interviews can shed new light on why live ammunition was on set and how it got there.
"That will be determined when we send those munitions to the FBI crime lab for analysis. But we think they may be additional munitions that were on set," Mendoza said.
This is how the investigation into the death of Halyna Hutchins goes, according to authorities 3:43
He did not say where on set the ammunition was found.
The Santa Fe County district attorney said in an interview with CNN's Josh Campbell that determining how the gun fired by Baldwin was loaded with suspected actual projectiles will be a key factor in any decision to file potential criminal charges in the case.
"We don't know how those live ammunition got there," District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies told CNN on Wednesday.
"And I think that will probably end up being the lynchpin of whether a decision is made on the charges."
Carmack-Altwies said any decision to press charges could take weeks or months.
"This is a large and complex investigation," he told CNN.
Carmack-Altwies said that while the case has drawn intense attention, it would not make the decision to press charges due to outside pressure.
"I will not make a decision based on that pressure," he said.
"The decision will be based on the law and the evidence, period."
Safety concerns
An affidavit of a search warrant for the film set filed by the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office and obtained by CNN affiliate KOAT contained information that Deputy Director Halls, who handed over the firearm to Baldwin of support, he had shouted "cold weapon".
Souza confirmed to investigators that he heard the term "cold weapon," which means that the pistol did not have a blank bullet or live ammunition containing gunpowder that could explode.
During the investigation, Halls acknowledged to investigators that he did not review all of the bullets loaded into the weapon prior to the deadly shooting, a detective wrote in a search warrant affidavit released Wednesday.
Detective Alexandria Hancock described her interviews with Halls and Gutiérrez, saying: "David noted that when Hannah showed him the firearm before continuing with the test, he only remembered seeing three ammunition. He advised that he should have checked all of them but did not. , and I couldn't remember if she spun the drum. "
Investigators added the request to search the van after interviewing several members of the filming crew, including Gutiérrez, who told investigators that the weapons used in the filming were stored in a safe inside the van or "truck of support "that only a few people had access to and the combination.
Although Mendoza said Wednesday that a suspected live shell killed Hutchins and wounded Souza, Hancock said in the document that Gutierrez told investigators: "Live ammunition is never kept on set."
"David reported that the incident was not a deliberate act," the detective wrote of the Halls interview.
According to the affidavit, a van used to store weapons and accessories on the set of "Rust" in Santa Fe was searched for evidence motivated by interviews with the film crew. The van was searched for firearms, ammunition, a gun safe, fingerprints, bodily fluids and debris, the detective said.
"Hannah counseled on the day of the incident, checked the 'mannequins' and made sure they were not 'hot' ammunition," the order reads on ammunition used on set.
Although the firearms were secured inside the truck, "ammunition was left in a car on set, not secured," Gutiérrez told investigators.
The gray two-tier tank also contained a western-style belt and other prop ammunition.
Halls was previously accused of ignoring security protocols during productions in 2019, two people who worked closely with him told CNN.
Maggie Goll, IATSE Local 44 prop maker and licensed pyrotechnic, said in a statement to CNN that while working on Hulu's "Into the Dark" anthology series in February and May 2019, Halls forgot to hold fireworks meetings. security and constantly did not announce the presence of a firearm on set to the team, as is the protocol.
On Wednesday, Mendoza invited those with additional information about the set or additional information to contact the sheriff's office.
"I think there was a certain complacency on this set," he said.
"I think there are some safety issues that need to be addressed by the industry and possibly the state of New Mexico, but I'll leave that to the industry and the state to determine what they should be."
Halls and Gutiérrez have not responded to previous requests for comment from CNN.
Alec Baldwin pictured with Halyna Hutchins family 1:14
Hollywood reaction
Baldwin was seen visibly affected after the shooting on the set of "Rust" and said he was "cooperating fully" with authorities.
"There are no words to express my shock and sadness over the tragic accident that took the life of Halyna Hutchins, our deeply admired wife, mother and colleague," Baldwin tweeted after the tragedy.
"I am fully cooperating with the police investigation to address how this tragedy occurred and I am in contact with her husband, offering my support to him and his family. My heart is broken for her husband, her son and everyone who knew and loved Halyna. ".
Hutchins, who was a wife and mother, is remembered in the Hollywood community for her kindness.
The incident has also sparked new discussions about the use of ammunition in movies and television shows.
Over the weekend, at least one television production, ABC's "The Rookie," made a change to established procedures around firearms.
The new policy of "The Rookie" will require the use of airsoft pistols, which are replicas of pistols with reduced power that normally fire plastic pellets.
Filmmaker Ava DuVernay said on CNNI's "Amanpour" that real guns "shouldn't be on sets" and that "there is no reason to keep having live ammunition on set."
DuVernay said he stopped using real guns on set five years ago and hopes the tragedy will spark a change in the film industry.
"I think you'll find more teams that will say we don't want it and more managers will say no. And I doubt there will be resistance for much longer," DuVernay told Christiane Amanpour.
"Unfortunately, the tragedy has put us in a position that can help our industry."
CNN's Julia Jones, Kay Jones, Jenn Selva, Susannah Cullinane, Andy Rose, Cheri Mossburg, and Henry Hullah contributed to this report.
Alec BaldwinHalyna HutchinsRust
