Reenactment of Alec Baldwin Shooting Incident
BONANZA CITY, NEW MEXICO — The .45-caliber Colt revolver that killed Halyna Hutchins on the set of ‘Rust’ was not thoroughly checked, according to a new court filing, cited by Reuters.
Assistant director David Halls said that when armorer Hannah Gutierrez showed him the firearm he could only remember seeing three rounds and couldn’t recall if she spun the drum before he told those on set that it was ‘cold’ — in court documents taken to indicate it does not contain live rounds — and handed it to actor Alec Baldwin.
Santa Fe Sheriff Adan Mendoza has since said a suspected live round killed Hutchins, despite armorer Gutierrez telling investigators no live ammo was ever kept on set.
As investigators look to explain this, CNN notes that Gutierrez told investigators that while firearms were secured inside a van, ammo was left on a cart on the set, while The Wrap reports that the gun which killed Hutchins was used by crew members earlier that morning for live-ammunition target practice.
Additionally, The Los Angeles Times reports that Baldwin’s stunt double previously fired two rounds accidentally — though the newspaper did not specify if these were live or blanks — while BBC notes the assistant director had been fired from a previous job after another incident with a prop gun unexpectedly discharging.
The Los Angeles Times reports that crew members had walked off set over issues with working conditions.
“There were no safety meetings. There was no assurance that it wouldn’t happen again. All they wanted to do was rush, rush, rush,” one crew member said.