Sheriff’s investigators have recovered the “lead projectile” that killed a cinematographer as well as 500 other rounds from the set of the movie “Rust,” authorities said Wednesday.
The investigation is ongoing and Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said it’s too early to determine if there’s enough evidence for criminal charges stemming from the deadly incident.
The rounds recovered from the set include blanks, dummy rounds and what investigators suspect are “live” rounds.
It’s been nearly a week since Alec Baldwin fired a prop gun on the New Mexico set of “Rust,” killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, 42, and wounding director Joel Souza, 48.
The round that killed Hutchins was taken out of Souza’s left shoulder by doctors, the sheriff said.
Much of the attention has fallen on “Rust” assistant director Dave Halls, who had been fired from the film “Freedom’s Path” in 2019 after a gun unexpectedly discharged on the set in New Mexico, injuring a crew member, a producer for that film has said.
Halls yelled “cold gun” a week ago Thursday before giving Baldwin the weapon, indicating incorrectly that it didn’t have any live rounds, according to a search warrant.
Questions have also been raised about the experience level of 24-year-old Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the set’s armorer. Gutierrez-Reed, the daughter of Hollywood stuntman Thell Reed, was in charge of weapons and gun safety on the set.
Both of those crew members and Baldwin have spoken to detectives.
“All three individuals have been cooperative in the investigation and have provided statements,” Mendoza said.
The tragedy has prompted some in Hollywood to call for more stringent gun-safety rules or the banning of on-set weapons altogether in the age of computer-generated visuals.
Work on “Rust” has been suspended until the investigation is finished, the film’s production team told crew members in a letter on Sunday night.
“As we go through this crisis, we have made the decision to wrap the set at least until the investigations are complete,” the letter said.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
