Baldwin accidentally fatally shot and killed 42-year-old Halyna Hutchins and injured director Joel Souza on Thursday on the set of the film Rust in New Mexico. Photo / Getty Images
Baldwin accidentally fatally shot and killed 42-year-old Halyna Hutchins and injured director Joel Souza on Thursday on the set of the film Rust in New Mexico. Photo / Getty Images
Experts have weighed in on the Alec Baldwin shooting, saying the death of a cinematographer on set was avoidable and Baldwin is not blameless.
Baldwin accidentally fatally shot and killed 42-year-old Halyna Hutchins and injured director Joel Souza on Thursday on the set of the film Rust in New Mexico.
As details emerge about exactly what happened inside a small church as Baldwin was rehearsing with the gun, firearms experts say the 63-year-old should have known better.
Special effects and firearms expert Steve Wolf has told the New York Post that Baldwin, who was producing the film, should have taken a look inside the weapon.
"If you're capable of memorising 120 pages of dialogue, you can memorise four lines of gun safety," Wolf said.
The comments come after devastating new details emerged from witnesses on set.
Court documents, sourced by The New York Times, include previously unreleased statements from Souza and a cameraman working on the film.
Juan Rios, spokesman for the Santa Fe County Sheriff's office, told the Times: "Detectives entered the movie set today and continue to interview potential witnesses.
"Apparently there were quite a few people at the scene of what happened."
Meanwhile, separate from the affidavit, the chief electrician on the movie shared details of Hutchins' last moments, including holding her in his arms "while she was dying".
Up and coming cinematographer, 42-year-old Halyna Hutchins, was shot and killed on the set of the movie, Rust, when a live round was accidentally discharged. Photo / Getty Images
The court documents reveal that moments before the shooting, the cast and crew had taken a lunch break before returning to set.
A picture of the last photo with Hutchins on set shows Baldwin inside a small church, surrounded by wooden pews.
Hutchins can be seen among five other cast members scattered around the set. According to the documents Baldwin was among the pews rehearsing a scene with the prop revolver.
Souza is standing alongside Hutchins, and according to the affidavit, "viewing the camera angle".
Baldwin was "practising" and drawing a revolver across his body and pointing it "towards the camera lens" when the weapon was fired and struck Hutchins in the chest.
Baldwin accidentally fatally shot and killed 42-year-old Halyna Hutchins and injured director Joel Souza on Thursday on the set of the film Rust in New Mexico. Photo / Getty Images
Souza was also wounded in the shooting during a rehearsal of the low-budget movie at the Bonanza Creek Ranch in Santa Fe, New Mexico's capital.
"Joel stated that they had Alec sitting in a pew in a church building setting, and he was practising a cross draw," the affidavit reads.
"Joel said he was looking over the shoulder of Halyna, when he heard what sounded like a whip and then loud pop.
"Joel then vaguely remembers [Hutchins] complaining about her stomach and grabbing her midsection.
"Joel also said [Hutchins] began to stumble backwards and she was assisted to the ground.
"Joel explained that he was bleeding from his shoulder and he could see blood on Halyna."
Details of the 911 call have also been made public.
The panicked call, made by the film's script supervisor Mamie Mitchell, reveals how the team asked for help "immediately" after the shooting ordeal.
In the footage obtained by TMZ, the woman can be heard telling operators: "We've had two people accidentally shot on a movie set by a prop gun.
"We need help immediately."
The crew member making the call, who had left the building where the two injured people were located, said that she couldn't confirm if a real bullet was fired.
She also then told the dispatch it was during a rehearsal that the gun went off.
