Actor Alec Baldwin was practicing removing a revolver from its holster and aiming toward the camera during rehearsal for the movie "Rust" when director Joel Souza heard "what sounded like a whip and then a loud pop," according to a search warrant obtained by the Los Angeles Times on Sunday night that also provided grim new details about the final minutes of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins' life.
In the newly released document, Souza said the weapon had been described to him as a "cold gun," meaning it did not have any live rounds. But the gun discharged, striking Hutchins in her chest and Souza in his right shoulder, according to a Santa Fe County, N.M., sheriff's detective's affidavit used to obtain a search warrant. Hutchins was pronounced dead at an Albuquerque hospital.
Souza's statement to the detective offered a new window into the on-set shooting Thursday that has left Hollywood reeling and calling for safer working conditions on sets.
The shooting took place after six members of the film's crew walked off the set after complaining to the production company about
payment and housing, camera operator Reid Russell told Det. Joel Cano. Russell's and Souza's statements to the detective offered the most detailed chronology yet of how the tragedy unfolded.
The day started late because the production hired a replacement camera crew and was working with only one camera, Souza told the detective.
Souza said three people were handling the gun for the scene: armorer
Hannah Gutierrez Reed, then assistant director
Dave Halls, who handed the gun to Baldwin, the affidavit said.
Because of COVID-19 safety protocols, the affidavit said, Gutierrez Reed set up three prop guns on a cart left outside Bonanza Creek Ranch's church set, the focus of the search warrant. Halls did not know live rounds were in the gun that he handed to Baldwin, and Halls yelled "cold gun," according to the affidavit.
Souza told the detective that cast and crew had been preparing for the scene before lunch but then took a meal break away from the rehearsal area around 12:30 p.m. When they returned, Souza said, he wasn't sure if the gun was checked again, the affidavit said. He also addressed the possibility of cast or crew bringing live ammunition, which can include
potentially dangerous blanks, onto the set.
"Joel said as far as he knows, no one gets checked for live ammunition on their person prior and after the scenes are being filmed," the affidavit said. "The only thing checked are the firearms to avoid live ammunition being in them. Joel stated there should never be live rounds whatsoever, near or around the scene."
When they came back from lunch, a creeping shadow prompted the camera to be moved to a different angle, Russell told the detective. As Baldwin was explaining how he was going to draw his gun and where his arm would be positioned, it discharged, Russell said.
Souza said he was looking over Hutchins' shoulder when the gun discharged. Hutchins grabbed her midsection, stumbled backward and "was assisted to the ground," Souza told the detective.
Russell recalled hearing a loud bang, seeing a bloody Souza and hearing Hutchins say she couldn't feel her legs, the affidavit said.
The search warrant released Sunday night allowed for seizure of all firearms, firearm components, used or unused ammunition (“whether it be live ammunition or prop ammunition”), computer hardware equipment, plus all cameras and film or memory cards. The Sheriff’s Office said it had taken blood, saliva and skin and hair samples but did not disclose whose samples it was testing.
The shooting came after crew members raised concerns about safety conditions on set. Two "Rust"
crew members told the L.A. Times that, less than a week earlier, a stunt double had fired two accidental prop gun discharges after being told the gun was "cold."
Rust Movie Productions said in a statement that the safety of its cast and crew is "the top priority" and it was not aware of official complaints raised about weapon safety and will conduct an internal review. On Sunday, the production company said it would
shut down the film's production during the investigation but did not rule out restarting.
Hutchins' death follows other accidents that have
happened on TV and movie sets. Some in Hollywood and the greater community have called for sets to no longer have operational firearms, especially as
muzzle fire could be added through post production. A California state senator has announced plans to
propose legislation to ban live ammunition and firearms capable of shooting live ammunition on Hollywood productions in California.
This story originally appeared in
Los Angeles Times.
