Actor told prop gun had no bullets just before fatal shooting

SANTA FE (New Mexico) • American actor Alec Baldwin was handed what was described as a safe "cold gun" on the set of his movie Rust, but the prop gun contained live rounds when it was fired, according to details of the police investigation into the fatal shooting.

The shot hit cinematographer Halyna Hutchins in the chest and director Joel Souza, who was behind her, in the shoulder, according to a county sheriff's affidavit filed in the Santa Fe magistrate court on Friday.

Ms Hutchins died of her wounds and Mr Souza was injured but has since been discharged from a local hospital.

An assistant director who handed Baldwin the prop gun did not know it contained live rounds, said the affidavit by detective Joel Cano of the Santa Fe sheriff's department.

Baldwin said on Friday he was in shock over the accidental shooting, as reports emerged of walkouts on the Rust set earlier in the week over unsafe conditions.

The star of 30 Rock and The Hunt For Red October said he was "fully cooperating" with the authorities to determine how the incident occurred on Thursday.

Production on the movie was immediately shut down.

The sheriff's department said no charges had been filed and the investigation remained open. Baldwin voluntarily gave a statement about the shooting, the sheriff's department said.

The affidavit was filed on Friday in support of a search warrant for "old Western-style clothing" worn by Baldwin that appeared to have blood stains, along with firearms, documentation, ammunition and cameras from the scene.

The search warrant was approved by a Santa Fe judge.

Mr Cano said the incident took place at Bonanza Creek Ranch, south of Santa Fe in the US state of New Mexico, during a rehearsal and it was not clear whether it had been filmed.

He said the prop gun was one of three on a cart outside a building. One of them was taken by the assistant director, who went inside and handed it to Baldwin.

"As the assistant director handed the gun to the actor Alec Baldwin, (he) yelled 'cold gun', indicating the prop gun did not have any live rounds," the affidavit said.

As the investigation proceeded, questions were raised about the working conditions on the set of Rust, a small-budget Western movie of which Baldwin was both star and a co-producer.

The Los Angeles Times and Deadline Hollywood cited several members of the crew and others close to the production as saying that six or seven camera operators had walked off the set hours before the tragedy.

Both outlets also reported that there had been at least one previous misfire with the prop gun.

"We cited everything from lack of payment for three weeks, taking our hotels away despite asking for them in our deals, lack of Covid-19 safety, and on top of that, poor gun safety! Poor on-set safety period!" a camera crew member wrote on a private Facebook page, according to Deadline.

Reuters could not immediately confirm the accounts. Rust Movie Productions did not respond to a request for comment on Friday but said in a statement that it was investigating.

"Though we were not made aware of any official complaints concerning weapon or prop safety on set, we will be conducting an internal review of our procedures while production is shut down," the company said in its statement.

Baldwin, 63, on Friday expressed his "shock and sadness regarding the tragic accident" that killed Ms Hutchins. In a message on his social media accounts, he said his "heart is broken for her husband, their son, and all who knew and loved Halyna".

The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees said in a statement that it was devastated to learn of the death of Ms Hutchins, who was a member of the union.

In a statement, Ms Hutchins' representatives said they "hope this tragedy will reveal new lessons for how to better ensure safety for every crew member on set".

REUTERS