Alec Baldwin's pistol had a lead projectile, says New Mexico commissioner
Santa Fe County Sheriff Adán Mendoza and District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies held a briefing six days after Baldwin accidentally shot and killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during a scene rehearsal. inside a church on the filming location in New Mexico.
Actor Alec Baldwin fired a vintage Colt pistol loaded with a lead bullet that killed the cinematographer on the set of the film Rust in New Mexico, authorities said Wednesday.
Santa Fe County Sheriff Adán Mendoza and District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies held a briefing six days after Baldwin accidentally shot and killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during a scene rehearsal. inside a church on the filming location in New Mexico.
No charges have been filed. Mendoza and Carmack-Altwies said it is too early to talk about allegations, but that they would be filed if they are justified.
"No one has been ruled out at this time," Carmack-Altwies said of the possible charges, because the investigation has not yet concluded.
Authorities have the firearm used in the incident, the sheriff said. Mendoza said that what are believed to be more bullets have been found on set, but will be tested by ballistics experts.
Mendoza said the weapon was a Long Colt revolver. "It's presumed live ammunition that did fire from the gun and did cause injuries. That leads us to believe it was live ammunition," he said.
The sheriff said Baldwin has cooperated in the investigation. "Obviously, it's the person who fired the gun," Mendoza said. "Right now, he is an active part of this investigation."
The sheriff also said that he had "tolerance" for firearms on set.
The shooting has shocked Hollywood, sparking a debate about security protocols in film and television - including whether the use of some types of weapons as props should be banned - and working conditions in low-budget productions.
Authorities have stated in court files that last Thursday Baldwin received what he believed to be a "cold" or safe pistol from the film's assistant director, David Halls, who took it from a car used by Hannah Gutiérrez , the firearms supervisor.
The gun contained what police called live ammunition and a shot hit Hutchins in the chest and Director Joel Souza, who was behind her, on her shoulder. Hutchins was airlifted to the University of New Mexico Hospital, where she died. Souza was treated at a hospital and released.
The lead bullet was recovered from Souza, Mendoza said.
Baldwin, 63, is a co-producer of Rust, a western film set in Kansas in 1880, and plays the outlaw grandfather of a 13-year-old boy convicted of an accidental murder. The production was filmed at the Bonanza Creek Ranch, located south of Santa Fe, and has been discontinued.
Baldwin was pointing at a camera while he rehearsed when he fired the gun, according to a sheriff's department affidavit released Sunday.
