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Alec Baldwin shooting – news: Police say arrests may come over Halyna Hutchins death, ‘there was complacency’

Investigators have discussed their initial findings in the probe into Halyna Hutchins’s death.

They held a news conference from Santa Fe, New Mexico today (27 October), six days after the movie-set shooting that left the 42-year-old cinematographer dead.

Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza and District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies both stressed the importance of allowing the probe to continue, saying charges may be filed at a later date if probable cause is found.

Alec Baldwin fired a gun that was being used as a prop in the Western Rust, killing Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza.

The events on 21 October have prompted calls to improve regulation of firearms on movie sets, or even ban them and replace them with computer-generated images.

Baldwin wrote in a statement after the incident: “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.”

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Alec Baldwin shooting: Santa Fe district attorney says criminal charges are ‘on the table’

Alec Baldwin could still face charges for Rust shooting - ‘He fired the weapon’

Rust armourer ‘mishandled’ guns on Nicolas Cage movie set, crew member tells CNN

01:02 , Graeme Massie

The lead armourer on Rust, Hannah Gutierrez, allegedly mishandled weapons on the set of a previous movie with Nicholas Cage, according to CNN,

Two crew members on The Old Way told the news network that the 24-year-old fired a gun near the actor on set with no warning, according to key grip Stu Brumbaugh, who says he then asked for her to be dismissed.

“Make an announcement! You just blew my f***ing eardrums out!” Cage screamed in annoyance before walking off set, claimed Mr Brumbaugh.

“She was talking to the stunt coordinator, and she just fired off a round, it sounded (like she fired])at the ground, and that’s when Nick really laid into her. That’s when I said she needs to be let go, she’s the most inexperienced armorer I had ever worked with. I have no idea why she wasn’t let go,” said Mr Brumbaugh.

Another crew member on the film, who asked CNN not to name them, also raised concerns about Ms Gutierrez.

“She didn’t carry the firearms safely. She had pistols tucked under her armpits and was carrying rifles in each hand that were ready to be used in the scene,” the crew member claimed to CNN.

“Firearms were aimed at people. She turned around and the pistols that were tucked under her armpits were pointing back at people.”

 (Getty Images)
(Getty Images)

Alec Baldwin shooting: Prosecutor says she was ‘shocked’ and ‘completely astonished’ at Rust death

00:01 , Graeme Massie

The Santa Fe County district attorney says she was “shocked” and “completely astonished” when she heard of the fatal shooting on the set of Alec Baldwin’s Rust movie.

Mary Carmack-Altwies will ultimately decide if any criminal charges will be brought against anyone following the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins who was shot during filming.

Santa Fe County DA ‘shocked’ and ‘completely astonished’ at Rust shooting

Santa Fe County DA says she was ‘shocked’ and ‘completely astonished’ when she heard of Rust shooting

23:11 , Graeme Massie

Mary Carmack-Altwies has said that she was “shocked” and “completely astonished” when she heard of the shooting on the set of the Alec Baldwin movie Rust that left one person dead.

Ms Carmack-Altwies told CNN in a new interview that she had thought movie sets were “safer and more protected.”

“The entire situation has shocked me. I was under the assumption, probably with most other people in this country, that movie sets were much safer and more protected than I think that at least this movie was,” she told the news network.

22:06 , Clemence Michallon

California lawmaker to propose gun ban on film sets

A California lawmaker says he will propose a “live” gun ban on movie sets after the fatal shooting on the set of Rust.

David Cortese, a Democratic state senator for Silicon Valley, announced his plan two days after Alec Baldwin fired a prop gun on the set of the western, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza.

Mr Cortese said his legislation banning “live” ammunition on sets would “prevent this type of senseless violence and loss of life”.

California senator to propose ‘live’ gun ban on film sets after Alec Baldwin shooting

21:47 , Clemence Michallon

Questions remain

Nearly a week after the fatal shooting on the set of the film Rust, several key questions remain unanswered, including who loaded Alec Baldwin’s gun, who could face charges over the incident, and what changes it could prompt in the movie industry.

Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza provided an update on the case at a press briefing on Wednesday.

Key details from the briefing included the seizure of about 500 rounds of ammunition from the set, confirmation that the gun was handled by at least two people prior to Baldwin, and that there was no footage of the shooting.

However, a number of questions about the tragedy still have yet to be resolved as the investigation continues.

Read more in the story below:

Key questions about Alec Baldwin shooting that remain unanswered

21:21 , Clemence Michallon

Ammunition collected as evidence

Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said that authorities have collected 600 pieces of evidence including three firearms, 500 rounds of ammunition – some believed to be live bullets – and several pieces of clothing and accessories in the ongoing investigation.

Some evidence is being sent to an FBI crime lab for analysis, Mendoza said.

Authorities have the firearm used in the shooting, Mendoza said, and they recovered the bullet from the shoulder of director Joel Souza, who was wounded but later released from the hospital. Mendoza said it appears the same bullet struck Souza and Hutchins.

(Reuters)

20:53 , Clemence Michallon

New details emerge, charges still a possibility

New details about the incident emerged on Wednesday during a news conference by Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza and District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies and in an affidavit filed by the local sheriff’s department.

Mendoza also told reporters there was a complacent attitude towards safety on the set.

Mendoza and Carmack-Altwies said that while no charges have been filed, they are not ruling out that possibility.

"All options are on the table. ... No one has been ruled out at this point,” Carmack-Altwies said referring to potential criminal charges.

(Reuters)

Assistant director tells police he didn’t check all rounds before giving Baldwin gun

20:13 , Clemence Michallon

Authorities to look into “rumours” and “statements”

Police in New Mexico will probe “tensions” on the Rust set that led to a walkout hours before the fatal shooting of the cinematographer and the wounding of the movie’s director, with the sheriff declaring that “there was complacency” towards weapon safety.

Around half a dozen crew members allegedly walked off the set of the movie on the morning of the shooting to protest working conditions on the low-budget western, according to reports.

Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza was asked about “tensions on the set” and reports of crew members allegedly drinking the night before the accident, which saw actor Alec Baldwin fire what he thought to be an unloaded prop gun, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza.

“I wont talk about specifics but we are aware of those rumours, or those statements that have been made, and we are going to do our best to track those down,” he told a Wednesday press conference in New Mexico.

Police to probe ‘tensions’ on Rust set that led to walkout hours before

19:34 , Clemence Michallon

Details emerge in affidavit

Assistant Director Davis Halls told police that when Rust armourer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed “showed him” the gun later used by Mr Baldwin “before continuing rehearsal, he could only remember seeing three rounds,” an affidavit filed on Wednesday in Santa Fe County Magistrate Court, and obtained by The Independent, shows.

Mr Halls “advised he should have checked all of them, but didn’t and couldn’t recall” if Ms Gutierrez-Reed “spun the drum” the legal document stated.

Assistant director tells police he didn’t check all rounds before giving Baldwin gun

19:15 , Clemence Michallon

What happened and what are the rules about using prop guns on set?

Here is what we know so far about the events of 21 October:

What happened in Alec Baldwin shooting incident that left film crew member dead?

18:52 , Clemence Michallon

How movie prop guns work

Prop guns include both real guns as well as toy guns or defunct weapons. The former are typically used to add an element of authenticity to close-up shots, as pointed out by firearms expert Cameron Brown in an article for American Cinematography magazine.

How prop guns filled with blanks can still fire life-threatening shots

18:29 , Clemence Michallon

Details emerge of events that unfolded on Rust set

Alec Baldwin fired a single bullet which killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and then lodged in the shoulder of directorJoel Souza on the set of the movie Rust, police have confirmed.

While police said they were continuing their investigation, and prosecutors said they had not ruled out the option of bringing charges against anyone, including the 63-year-old star, police said it appeared Baldwin had fired a single round from a .45 Lee handgun.

At a news conference on Wednesday, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said the bullet had been passed to investigators by medical officials who removed it from the shoulder of the injured director.

Read more below:

Alec Baldwin fired ‘single bullet which killed Halyna Hutchins then hit director’

18:07 , Clemence Michallon

Investigation continues

Authorities say they have recovered a lead projectile believed to have been fired from the gun used in the fatal movie-set shooting.

Testing is being done to determine whether the lead projectile recovered from director Joel Souza’s shoulder was fired from the gun — a long Colt revolver — used by Baldwin. Two other guns seized include a single-action revolver that may have been modified and a plastic prop gun that was described as a revolver.

Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said it’s too early to comment on whether any charges will be filed. He also noted that 500 rounds of ammunition — a mix of blanks, dummy rounds and live rounds — were found while searching the set.

The sheriff would not comment on how the rounds got on set.

Investigators said they will also be following up on reports that there were other incidents involving misfires with guns used on the set.

District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies said investigators can’t say whether it was negligence or by whom at this point.

Both the sheriff and district attorney said they will not rush to judgment and that more investigation is needed.

(AP)

17:45 , Clemence Michallon

Investigators to probe on-set circumstances

Police in New Mexico will probe tensions on the Rust set that led to a walkout hours before, with the sheriff declaring that “there was complacency” towards weapon safety.

Read our developing story:

Police to probe tensions on Rust set that led to walkout hours before

17:25 , Clemence Michallon

Authorities don’t rule out possible charges

New Mexico authorities have not ruled out the possibility of multiple charges in Alec Baldwin’s fatal on-set shooting – including for the actor himself.

Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza and District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies offered their first public update on the case on Wednesday, almost a week after Baldwin fired a prop gun on the set of his film Rust, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza.

Read more below:

Alec Baldwin could still face charges for Rust shooting

17:19 , Clemence Michallon

FBI to inspect evidence

Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza told reporters at a news conference today that interviews have been conducted, search warrants executed, and evidence from the scene has been collected and processed.

A search warrant was issued for any camera footage taken at the scene.

Approximately 500 rounds of ammunition, including blanks, have been collected, as well as three firearms, Mendoza said.

According to Mendoza, authorities believe they have in their possession the firearm that was fired by Alec Baldwin, as well as the spent shell casing from the bullet that was fired from the gun.

Evidence will be sent to the FBI crime lab in Quantico, Virginia, for analysis.

17:10 , Clemence Michallon

Charges may be filed

Authorities at the press conference say the investigation is ongoing and charges may be filed at a later date if probable cause is found.

For now, though, they have stressed the importance of allowing the probe to carry on.

District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies and Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza both highlighted how crucial it is to allow those findings to be made.

17:01 , Clemence Michallon

Investigators in Santa Fe are preparing to give an update in a news conference:

 (Facebook/Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office)
(Facebook/Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office)

16:55 , Clemence Michallon

New claims

Nicolas Cage had previously complained about the behaviour of Rust armourer Hannah Gutierrez-Reid when they worked together, it is being claimed.

Cage and Gutierrez-Reid worked together on The Old Way, where it has been reported the armourer was also accused of failing to abide by gun safety protocols. It filmed only two months before Rust.

Stu Brumbaugh, a key grip on the movie told The Wrap that Gutierrez-Reid fired a gun near the cast and crew which caused Cage to burst out in anger. Brumbaugh said Cage shouted: “Make an announcement, you just blew my f***ing eardrums out!”

Nicolas Cage stormed off set after Rust armourer’s actions on previous film

16:46 , Clemence Michallon

Press conference starting soon

Investigators are due to speak in about 15 minutes to provide their initial findings.

Here is how you can follow and watch the press conference:

Everything you need to know about Alec Baldwin shooting press conference

16:28 , Clemence Michallon

Internal investigation launched

The production of Rust has hired a legal team to conduct an internal investigation into the shooting incident.

“In addition to cooperating with authorities, we hired a legal team from Jenner & Block to conduct an investigation of the events,” said a note sent to the film’s cast and crew members, published by Deadline.

The note adds: “We have stressed that they will have full discretion about who to interview and any conclusions they draw.”

16:07 , Clemence Michallon

Investigators hope a forensic analysis of ballistic evidence will shed light on the events of 21 October, but they have said not to expect answers anytime soon.

“We need to be diligent about the investigation so, should there be charges ultimately filed, they are able to uphold those in court,” Juan Rios, spokesman for the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Department, told Reuters.

Interviews are ongoing and detectives may need to talk to as many as 50 people, Rios said.

(Reuters)

15:37 , Clemence Michallon

Here is how you can watch today’s press conference at 10am local time in Santa Fe (12pm ET):

Everything you need to know about Alec Baldwin shooting press conference

15:22 , Clemence Michallon

A California lawmaker says he will propose a “live” gun ban on movie sets after the fatal shooting on the set of Rust.

David Cortese, a Democratic state senator for Silicon Valley, announced his plan two days after Alec Baldwin fired a prop gun on the set of his forthcoming film Rust, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza.

Mr Cortese said his legislation banning “live” ammunition on sets would “prevent this type of senseless violence and loss of life”.

Read more in the story below:

California senator to propose ‘live’ gun ban on film sets after Alec Baldwin shooting

14:56 , Clemence Michallon

Authorities will present their initial findings from Santa Fe, New Mexico, at 10am local time/12pm ET/9am PT/5pm BST.

Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza and District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies are expected to speak, delivering their first detailed public comments about the events that unfolded on 21 October on the set of Rust.