Affidavit offers new details on Baldwin shooting that killed cinematographer

Oct. 22—Cast and crew members of the Rust movie production were inside a building at the Bonanza Creek Ranch when an assistant director grabbed one of three prop guns on a rolling cart outside, handed the weapon to actor Alec Baldwin and yelled, "Cold gun," indicating it didn't have any live rounds, a search warrant affidavit says.

The court document offers more details about a fatal incident Thursday at the popular movie ranch south of Santa Fe, where the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office says Baldwin — one of Hollywood's best-known actors — discharged a prop gun, killing 42-year-old cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injuring the Western film production's director, Joel Souza, who was standing behind her.

Hutchins was struck in the chest, and Souza was wounded in the shoulder, the affidavit says.

While a firmworkers union in California issued a statement to members Friday saying the gun Baldwin fired had "a live single round," the sheriff's office said it could not confirm this.

Baldwin in a Twitter post Friday morning expressed deep regret about the incident, noting he is cooperating with law enforcement on the investigation "to address how this tragedy occurred."

"There are no words to convey my shock and sadness regarding the tragic incident that took the life of Halyna Hutchins, a wife, mother and deeply admired colleague of ours," Baldwin's message said.

Baldwin, 63, who is the producer of Rust and one of its stars, was interviewed Thursday by sheriff's office investigators.

Santa Fe County Magistrate John Rysanek signed a warrant Friday authorizing the sheriff's office to search the wooden structure Bonanza Creek where the shooting occurred, described as "gray/brown" in color, with a cross on its pitched roof.

Investigators were seeking the bloodstained "Old Western Style" clothing Baldwin was wearing on set at the time of the shooting and any cameras, film or digital memory cards, Detective Joel Cano wrote in the affidavit for the search warrant. The incident occurred during a rehearsal with film equipment on scene, and he "would like to confirm if the incident that took place was or wasn't recorded," Cano wrote.

Deputies responding to a 911 call about a "gunshot trauma" at the ranch learned the gun had been handed to an armorer, a worker who handles weapons for a movie set, following the shooting. According to the affidavit, the armorer had taken the spent casing out of the gun.

Deputies secured the weapon, the rolling cart, a Western style belt and additional prop ammunition, the affidavit says.

The document says the sheriff's office was seeking photographs of the interior and exterior of the building, as well as cameras and media players, storage devices of all types, firearms and documentation of ownership, used and unused ammunition and casings, any other prop projectiles, and the clothing worn by Baldwin during the incident.

Cano did not include every known fact in the case, he wrote in the warrant, but included facts he believed were necessary to establish probable cause for a search.

Bonanza Creek Ranch owners and operators could not be reached for comment. Imogene Hughes, the ranch's longtime owner, died earlier this month. Her daughter, Denise Spaccamonti, said in an interview Oct. 8 Bonanza Creek was continuing to operate under the guidance of her brother, Richard Hughes.

It remained unclear Friday whether anyone would face charges in the death of Hutchins, a Los Angeles-based cinematographer from Ukraine who grew up on a Soviet military base within the Arctic Circle, according to her website. She was named as one of American Cinematographer's Rising Stars of 2019.

District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies issued a statement Friday saying the case was still in "its preliminary stages of investigation."

"We are assisting the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office and have offered our full support to them," she said. "At this time, we do not know if charges will be filed. We will look into all facts and evidence of the case with great discretion and have further information at a later time. Our thoughts are with all affected by this tragedy."

District Attorney's Office spokeswoman Sascha Anderson said Carmack-Altwies believes a prop gun would still be considered a deadly weapon if homicide charges were filed, but her office was waiting for the investigation to be completed.

"We're all in uncharted territory here," Anderson said.

Variety and other news outlets reported a California chapter of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees sent an email to its members claiming the prop gun fired by Baldwin contained a live round.

"A live single round was accidentally fired on set by the principal actor, hitting both the Director of Photography, Local 600 member Halyna Hutchins, and Director Joel Souza," the union told members in the email, according to Variety. "Both were rushed to the hospital. Unfortunately, we lost Sister Hutchins who passed from the wound."

The union said in the email New Mexico crew members were not union members had handled props on the Rust set, according to Variety.

Local and national IATSE officials could not be reached for comment or declined to comment on the shooting and the email.

Juan Ríos, a spokesman for the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office, said he could not yet confirm or deny if the ammunition was in fact a live round. Investigators were still at the movie set collecting evidence Friday, and witness interviews were underway, he added.

Sheriff Adan Mendoza said he was out of town until Monday morning. He planned to aid investigators and provide more information to the community about the shooting when he returned, he said.

"We want to offer our condolences to Ms. Hutchins' family," Mendoza said in a brief interview Friday morning. "Tragedy happens all the time. Unfortunately, some get more attention than others, but we're certainly concerned for the families and people working there."

A statement released Friday from the New Mexico Film Office, a division of the Economic Development Department, said the state's film community was feeling the impact of Hutchins' death.

"We along with the entire film community in New Mexico are saddened by the tragedy that happened on the set of Rust, yesterday," the film office said. "The safety and well-being of all cast, crew, and filmmakers in New Mexico is a top priority at all times."

This is a developing story and will be updated.

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