Star told loaded weapon was a ‘cold gun’ and safe before fatal shooting on set
Court papers reveal actor did not know gun was loaded with live ammunition
An assistant director unwittingly handed Alec Baldwin a loaded weapon and told him it was safe to use in the moments before the actor fatally shot a cinematographer, according to court documents.
“Cold gun”, the assistant director announced, according to a search warrant filed in a court in Santa Fe, Arizona.
Instead, the gun was loaded with live rounds and when Baldwin pulled the trigger on Thursday he killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. Director Joel Souza, who was standing behind her, was wounded, the records said.
The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office obtained the warrant so investigators could document the scene at the ranch outside Santa Fe where the shooting took place.
They sought Baldwin’s blood-stained costume for the film Rust as evidence, as well as the weapon that was
fired, other prop guns and ammunition, and any footage that might exist.
The gun was one of three that the head armourer in charge of guns, Hannah Gutierrez-reed, had set on a cart outside the wooden structure where a scene was being acted, according to the records.
A search warrant released on Friday said that first assistant director Dave Halls grabbed the gun from the cart and brought it inside to Baldwin, unaware that it was loaded with live rounds.
Filming a scene inside an Old West church, Baldwin apparently aimed towards the camera and pulled the trigger, killing the cinematographer and injuring the director who was standing behind her.
Reports yesterday suggested Gutierrez-reed, 25, was inexperienced and unsure about the responsibility. She told a podcast last month of her doubts before accepting the promotion on a previous film: “I almost didn’t take the job because I wasn’t sure if I was ready.”
It was claimed the crew had walked off the set of the movie, which stars Baldwin as the outlaw Harland Rust, hours before the fatal accident over safety fears after guns were accidentally discharged three times.
Baldwin, 63, confirmed he was “fully cooperating” with the police probe and, in a statement posted on his arts foundation’s social media account, he described the event as a “tragedy” and said he was in communication with Hutchins’ husband.
He said: “There are no words to convey my shock and sadness regarding the tragic accident that took the life of Halyna Hutchins, a wife, mother and deeply admired colleague of ours.
“I’m fully cooperating with the police investigation to address how this tragedy occurred and I am in touch with her husband, offering my support to him and his family.
“My heart is broken for her husband, their son, and all who knew and loved Halyna.”
Hutchins, 42, was airlifted to University of New Mexico Hospital where she was pronounced dead. Actress Frances Fisher, who stars in the film, said on Friday that director Souza, 48, had been discharged from hospital.
Shannon Lee, the sister of late actor Brandon Lee, has said “no one should ever be killed by a gun on a film set” following the incident. Lee, the son of martial arts superstar Bruce Lee, was 28 when he was shot dead on the set of the film The Crow in 1993.
The gun was supposed to have fired a blank, but a postmortem examination found a .44-calibre bullet lodged near his spine.
Baldwin has been famous for more than three decades and best known for his roles in 30 Rock, Glengarry Glen Ross and The Cooler, as well as his impression of Donald Trump on Saturday Night Live. He is eldest of four actor brothers – the others being Daniel, Stephen and William.