Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office investigators have collected hundreds of ammunition rounds – some of which are believed to be alive – from the set of the western film Rust at Bonanza Creek Ranch, where award-winning actor Alec Baldwin fired a gun that was deadly Shootout caused last week.
During a joint press conference with the prosecutor on Wednesday, attended by numerous reporters, Sheriff Adan Mendoza revealed new details about his agency’s investigation into the October 21 shootings in which renowned cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and the wounded director Joel Souza were killed became.
Mendoza, who returned from vacation early Saturday for a briefing on the case, said the investigation had raised concerns about gun handling on the set.
“At least there was complacency on the set,” he said in an interview after the press conference. “… I think when real firearms are used, on-set safety is paramount.”
While Mendoza said there were no charges in Hutchins’ death, District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies said “all options are on the table” and “no one has been ruled out at this point” – including Baldwin.
Investigators recovered the firearm fired by Baldwin – an F.Lli Pietta .45 long-range Colt revolver – and “the spent cartridge case from the bullet that was fired from the gun,” Mendoza said at the press conference, adding that ” actual “The lead projectile fired was recovered from Souza’s shoulder.”
The bullet hit Souza after it shot through Hutchins’ abdomen, the sheriff said.
Several other rounds of ammunition were loaded into the barrel of the revolver, but Mendoza said he could not confirm whether these cartridges were sharp.
However, the sheriff said several gunshots were found on the set that were believed to be live. “This investigation is active so I will not comment on how they got there. … This is determined when the crime lab tests whether it is officially live rounds or not. “
Evidence from the shooting will be presented to the FBI Crime Lab in Quantico, Virginia for analysis, he said.
The sheriff’s office has not confirmed multiple media reports of crew members using the revolver to shoot cans of live rounds earlier in the day. Mendoza said there were “facts and rumors floating around” and that it was up to investigators to establish the facts.
Minutes before the morning press conference began, the state administrative bureau of the courts publicly released a new search warrant for a “prop truck” on the set, in which film workers said the revolver that Baldwin had dismissed had been stored. Both Souza and armorer Hannah Gutierrez, who handled firearms for Rust production, told investigators that the search warrant’s affidavit said no live rounds should have been held on or near the set.
It was the third warrant the sheriff’s office received for a search of the Rust set on the popular movie ranch south of Santa Fe.
The warrant indicates that investigators are looking for evidence of anyone who may have had access to the revolver, a safe that held firearms, and any weapons, ammunition, cameras or other digital devices in the truck.
“A thorough and objective investigation”
“Over the past few days, our investigation team has been working diligently to conduct interviews, execute search warrants and gather and process evidence at the scene,” Mendoza told the crowd of reporters at the press conference on Wednesday, many from across the country and around World world.
The Santa Fe Sheriff’s Office is holding a press conference about the prop shooting in which cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injured director Joel Souza were killed on the set of Rust.
“During this process, we discovered that there were only a limited number of film set personnel in the area where the actual incident occurred, even though there were about 100 people on the set,” he added. “We collected about 600 pieces of evidence through the search warrants. These include three firearms, around 500 rounds of ammunition and several items of clothing. “
Mendoza later said that there were 16 people in a church building on Bonanza Creek Ranch at the time of the shooting, and investigators interviewed them all. But there are many other cast and crew members who have yet to be interviewed, he noted.
“We are working hard to collect all the facts of the investigation, continue the interviews and further analyze and process the evidence,” said Mendoza. “I want to assure the victims, their families and the public that we are conducting a thorough and objective investigation.”
He said it was “too early for the investigation at the moment” to comment on possible criminal charges.
Carmack-Altwies said her agency will work with the sheriff’s office to ensure the investigation is conducted “to the highest standards.”
“I am speaking from the prosecutor’s point of view and I must stress that a full and thorough investigation is vital,” said the prosecutor. “We’ll take the verified facts and evidence and tie them into New Mexico law, and we’re not there yet.”
Aside from possible criminal charges, Baldwin and the production company Rust could face civil charges over the filming and other alleged security issues on the set.
According to an insurance certificate Business Insider received from the Santa Fe Film Office, the production has total liability insurance coverage of $ 6 million.
The financial news site reported that Rust was insured for up to $ 1 million in injuries and damage on the set, up to $ 1 million in workers’ compensation, and an additional $ 5 million in commercial “umbrella” coverage.
Gun Control Questions
The sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to Bonanza Creek Ranch at 1:48 p.m. on October 21 after receiving a call that two people had been shot on a movie set, Mendoza said. The first proxy arrived at 2 p.m. and an ambulance arrived a minute later.
“During the initial investigation, it was established that the actor and producer Alec Baldwin was the person who fired the gun,” said the sheriff. “We identified two other people who handled and / or inspected the loaded firearm before Baldwin fired the gun.”
Mendoza identified them as Gutierrez and assistant director Dave Halls, two workers on the set who had come under the most severe criticism on social media for failing to make sure the revolver was empty.
Affidavits say Souza told investigators Gutierrez should check the gun and Halls should do a second check before handing it over to Baldwin. Halls had retrieved the revolver from a gun wagon prepared by Gutierrez and given it to Baldwin, telling the star it was a “cold weapon,” the documents said.
Mendoza said Gutierrez, Halls and Baldwin “have been cooperative in the investigation”.
However, it remains unclear how Gutierrez and Halls could have missed a live round in the Revolver had they inspected it.
“The people who inspected or handled the gun as it was loaded before it reached Mr. Baldwin have been interviewed and we have some follow-up questions to ask,” Mendoza said. “So there is more investigation, more interviews, and we’re going to try to find out exactly how that happened and if you should know that there was a live round in that gun.”
According to the search warrant affidavit released on Wednesday, Gutierrez told investigators that she checked the ammunition on October 21 to make sure it was not “hot”. Round. When the crew took a lunch break, the firearms were locked in a safe on the “prop truck,” she said. However, she said the ammunition was left unsecured on a trolley on the set.
Souza told investigators he was unsure whether the weapon Baldwin was using had been rechecked for ammunition after lunch, the affidavit said.
Halls said he checked the gun barrels for obstructions and “most of the time there is no sharp fire”.
“Hannah opens the drum and spins it, and I say ‘cold gun’ on set,” he added, according to the affidavit. Before the rehearsal, he remembered seeing only three cartridges in the revolver and should have checked them all, but he didn’t, he said, and he couldn’t remember if Gutierrez had turned the drum for him.
Gutierrez had prepared a cart with three guns for rehearsal for a scene in which Baldwin was supposed to sit in a wooden pew, facing the camera, before “crossing his gun and pointing the revolver at the camera lens,” court documents say.
During rehearsals, Souza told investigators, Baldwin drew his gun and he heard “what sounded like a whip” and a loud crack. He looked back to see 42-year-old Hutchins holding her abdomen. She was transported to the University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque, where she succumbed to her injuries.
Souza was treated at the Christ St. Vincent Regional Medical Center.
Sheriff’s Bureau spokesman Juan Ríos said one firearm found on the set was a modified revolver and the third was a plastic pistol.
Problems on the set
The fatal shootout came after a series of problems on the set.
Sources close to the production have told news outlets that it was the fourth time in just a few weeks of filming that a gun had misfired. Some complained about other gun safety issues, saying the workers on the set loaded the revolver with live cartridges to shoot beer cans.
Crew members also complained about poor working conditions.
Souza told investigators that several members of the camera team left the set the morning of the shooting amid an argument over payments and housing issues, search warrant affidavits said.
After the strike, the remaining crew had only one camera available that day and were holding rehearsal to determine how best to film the scene in the restricted conditions, Souza added.
News media have reported that Halls, the assistant director, has faced complaints about unsafe practices on other film sets. Mendoza said his investigators would investigate these allegations.
“We definitely want to speak to anyone who has information related to security issues [on other movie] sets, ”he said.
Carmack-Atlwies said such information will be incorporated into her office’s legal analysis when the sheriff’s investigation comes in.
“Obviously, it could matter whether or not charges are brought,” she said.
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