'Complacency on the set,' infer investigators in Alec Baldwin shooting case

Alec Baldwin

Investigators infer that there was "some complacency" in how weapons were handled on the movie set where Alec Baldwin accidentally shot and killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounded director Joel Souza, but it's too soon to determine whether charges will be filed.

Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza noted that 500 rounds of ammunition "a mix of blanks, dummy rounds and live rounds" were found while searching the set of the Western Rust. Testing is being done to confirm whether the projectile taken from Souza's shoulder was fired from the same long Colt revolver used by Baldwin. The FBI will help with ballistics analysis. Souza, who was standing behind Hutchins, told investigators there should never be live rounds present near the scene. "We suspect that there were other live rounds. Right now, we're keen to determine how those got there because they shouldn't have been," Mendoza said. District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies said investigators cannot say yet whether it was negligence or by whom. She called it a complex case that will require more research and analysis. "It will take many more corroborated facts, before we can get to that criminal negligence standard," she said. Investigators added that they planned to follow up on reports of other incidents involving misfires with guns on the set.

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Court records say that an assistant director grabbed the gun from a cart and indicated the weapon was safe by yelling "cold gun". The film's weapons specialist or armourer, Hannah Gutierrez Reed said she checked dummy bullets on the day of the shooting to ensure that none were "hot" rounds.

The production of Rust was beset by workplace disputes from the start in early October. Hours before the shooting, several camera crew members walked off the set amid discord over working conditions, including safety procedures. While Baldwin won't be held liable for the tragedy, as a producer, however, he could face some sort of liability.

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