A sword of Damocles now floats above Alec Baldwin's career.
Criminal proceedings against the Hollywood actor, who accidentally killed a cinematographer on the set of the western "Rust" last week, are not ruled out at this point, the prosecutor in charge of the investigation said on Wednesday. fatal shot.
"It was he who activated the weapon," said Santa Fe prosecutor Mary Carmack-Altwies at a press conference. “All options are on the table at this stage” and “no one is excluded” regarding possible lawsuits, she said. Searches carried out at the Bonanza Creek ranch, New Mexico, where Halyna Hutchins was killed on October 21, resulted in the seizure of 500 ammunition, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said.
Among the details made by the investigators: the case of the bullet that was fired by the weapon and a projectile were recovered from the shoulder of Joel Souza, the director of the film also injured in the shooting.
Information which gives an idea of the proximity of the protagonists during the drama.
“The evidence will be submitted to the FBI for further processing,” the local sheriff also said.
"A certain carelessness on this plateau"
"I think there was a certain carelessness on this set and I think there are issues that the (film) industry and maybe the state (of New Mexico) need to contend with. lean, ”said the sheriff.
No arrests have taken place at this stage and witness hearings are continuing.
In addition to actor Alec Baldwin, who also had the title of executive producer on the film, other protagonists of the drama could also be called into question by justice, such as assistant director Dave Halls, who had handed over the lethal weapon to the actor for the rehearsal of a scene.
In this context, a law firm was hired by the producers of "Rust", on the grill, to investigate the shooting at the same time.
"How this live ammunition got on the set"
In addition, pending the conclusions of the forensic science, investigators believe that among these 500 ammunition, there is a mixture of dummy cartridges, blank cartridges and live ammunition. "We will determine how this live ammunition got on the set, why it was there, because it should not have been there," Sheriff Mendoza said. The very strict recommendations of the film industry in terms of firearms, however, prohibit the presence of live ammunition on a shoot, precisely to prevent this kind of accident.
“We interview those who inspected or handled the firearm while it was loaded, before it reached Mr. Baldwin.
And there are follow-up questions we need to ask, ”he also said.
Later during the press conference, Mendoza clarified that there had been "only one real bullet, as far as we are concerned, on the set".
A fatal bullet.
