Alec Baldwin is 'obviously the person that fired the weapon', New Mexico investigators say and 'all options are on the table'. Photo / John Minchillo, AP, File
Alec Baldwin is 'obviously the person that fired the weapon', New Mexico investigators say and 'all options are on the table'. Photo / John Minchillo, AP, File
Officials investigating the shooting death of Halyna Hutchins say they have "not ruled out" charges against Alec Baldwin for firing the fatal shot.
The 63-year-old actor discharged a gun on the set of the Rust movie set in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on October 21, accidentally killing Hutchins, 42, and injuring the film's director Joel Souza.
Santa Fe County district attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies and Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza discussed the incident in a press conference that took place nearly one week after the fatal shooting.
Mendoza said it was too early in the investigation to press charges regarding the case, as he revealed the authorities are working hard to determine what happened on set.
Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza, front, speaks Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies, rear, listens during a news conference. Photo / Andres Leighton, AP
He said police are in possession of 600 items including three weapons and other live rounds from the set.
"We're going to determine how those [live rounds] got there, why they were there, because they shouldn't have been there," Mendoza said
They are also in possession of the gun which Baldwin fired that killed Hutchins as well as the shell casing.
"He's obviously the person that fired the weapon," Carmack-Altwies said regarding Baldwin. "All options are on the table. No one has been ruled out at this point."
Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza, left, and Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies exit the sheriff's office to address the media. Photo / Andres Leighton, AP
According to the affidavit filed by investigators, assistant director Dave Halls had handed Baldwin the prop gun and yelled that it was a "cold gun", meaning it was not loaded with live ammunition.
Along with Halls, the gun was also handled by armourer Hannah Gutierrez Reed.
Mendoza said Gutierrez-Reed and Halls had both been interviewed by police.
Gutierrez-Reed was working on just her second movie set and had previously expressed concerns that she "wasn't ready" to take the job.
Halls told detectives he did not know that there were live rounds in the gun, the affidavit reads.
Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of 'Archenemy' in January 2020 in Los Angeles. Photo / Adam Egypt Mortimer via AP
Halls was previously the subject of a safety complaint on the set of the Hulu series Into the Dark in 2019.
Crew member Maggie Goll said in a statement to The Associated Press that she filed an internal complaint with the executive producers over concerns about assistant director Halls' behaviour on set.
Goll said in an email that Halls disregarded safety protocols for weapons and pyrotechnics and tried to continue filming after a crew member had "slipped into a diabetic fugue state".
Bonanza Creek Ranch the day after the shooting left one crew member dead and another injured. Photo / Roberto E. Rosales, The Albuquerque Journal via AP
"He did not maintain a safe working environment," Goll told NBC News. "Sets were almost always allowed to become increasingly claustrophobic, no established fire lanes, exits blocked ... safety meetings were non-existent."
