Alec Baldwin said the gun was safe before the fatal shot – court records

The gun that actor Alec Baldwin fired on set, killing a woman, was handed to him by an assistant director who told him it was safe, according to court documents.

The unnamed director was unaware that the prop contained live ammunition and indicated that it was discharged by shouting “cold gun!” The records say.

Director of photography Halyna Hutchins was shot dead in the chest in Thursday’s incident on the set of the film Rust.

Director Joel Souza, who was standing behind her, was injured.

The 48-year-old received emergency care for a shoulder injury and was subsequently discharged from the hospital.

Further details of the police investigation were released on Friday when a search warrant was filed with a court of law in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

He noted that Baldwin’s bloodstained suit was taken as evidence along with the gun. Ammunition and other prop weapons were also taken from the set by the police.

The 63-year-old actor was questioned by law enforcement but no one was charged for the incident.

On Friday, Baldwin – who was the film’s star and producer – said he was “fully cooperating” with the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office.

“My heart is broken for her husband, their son and everyone who knew and loved Halyna,” she tweeted.

“There are no words to express my shock and sadness at the tragic accident that took the life of Halyna Hutchins, wife, mother and our deeply admired colleague.”

Ms. Hutchins, 42, was Ukrainian and grew up on a Soviet military base in the Arctic Circle. She studied journalism in Kiev and film in Los Angeles and was named a “rising star” by American Cinematographer magazine in 2019.

She was the director of photography for the 2020 action film Archenemy, directed by Adam Egypt Mortimer.

According to the Los Angeles Times, about half a dozen members of Rust’s TV crew walked out hours before the tragedy after protesting on-set working conditions at Bonanza Creek Ranch near Santa Fe.

Union members had reportedly complained that they had been promised hotel rooms in Santa Fe, but once filming of the western began, they had to drive 50 miles (80km) from Albuquerque every morning.

Meanwhile, the BBC has obtained a document showing which crew members were listed as scheduled to be on set that day.

He appoints a chief gunsmith – the crew member responsible for firearms control – who is in his twenties and has only recently held that role for the first time.

The prop gun that Baldwin fired contained a “live single shot,” according to an email sent by the International Alliance of Theater Employees to its members, Variety reports.

In Rust, Baldwin played an outlaw whose grandson is sentenced to hang for accidental murder.

The actor is best known for his role as Jack Donaghy on the NBC sitcom 30 Rock and his portrayal of Donald Trump on the sketch show Saturday Night Live.

Such incidents on movie sets are extremely rare.

Real firearms are often used in shooting and are loaded with blanks that create a flash and bang without discharging a bullet.

In 1993, Brandon Lee – the 28-year-old son of late martial arts star Bruce Lee – died on set after being accidentally shot with a prop gun while filming a death scene for The Crow. The gun had mistakenly loaded a bullet.