Actor Alec Baldwin was practicing drawing his gun and pointing it at the camera during a rehearsal for his new movie “Rust” when he accidentally fired it, legal documents showed.
Film director Joel Souza was shot in the shoulder, and 42-year-old cinematographer Halyna Hutchins died after the actor’s prop gun was fired on the movie’s set in Bonanza Creek on Thursday.
According to an affidavit released by the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office on Sunday, Souza spoke with investigators, shedding more light on the fatal incident.
When given the firearm, Baldwin was told it was a “cold gun,” a term used to refer to when a gun is unloaded, according to court documents, which also included statements from camera operator Reid Russell.
The films’ director, who was looking over Hutchins’ shoulder when both were hit, told investigators that the actor was “sitting in a pew in a church building setting, and he was practicing a cross draw.”
A “cross draw” describes when a shooter draws his weapon from a holster located on the body’s opposite side from the draw hand.
“Joel said he was looking over the shoulder of [Hutchins], when he heard what sounded like a whip and then loud pop,” the document quoted, adding that Hutchins had been shot in the chest area.
According to the affidavit, Souza vaguely remembers that Hutchins complained about her stomach and grabbed her midsection before starting to stumble backward.
Russell was standing next to Hutchins and Souza at the time of the shooting. He told authorities that the cinematographer could not feel her legs, adding that doctors treated her while she was bleeding on the floor.
He also spoke about how Baldwin treated firearms on set, stating that the actor had been “very careful.”
On Friday, authorities also revealed that assistant director Dave Halls had handed the pistol to Baldwin and shouted “cold gun,” indicating that the gun was safe to use.
Souza stated that three people had handled the weapon for the scenes, including the armorer and the first assistant director, the warrant showed.
Both Russell and Souza acknowledged difficulties on set when the incident happened, describing a walkout by camera crew over residency and payment issues.
Producers, who have halted on-set work, are conducting an internal investigation while the Santa Fe Sheriff’s Office has launched an inquiry into the incident.
