After the fatal shot by Alec Baldwin on the cameraman Halyna Hutchins, the police have now published the first testimony.
Santa Fe – Halyna Hutchins, a 42-year-old cinematographer, was shot dead while filming the western “Rust”. The shock after the fatal accident is deep. US actor Alec Baldwin fired the shot from a prop gun. The projectile penetrated the chest of the cameraman Halyna Hutchins and injured the director Joel Suez (48) on the shoulder. The mother of a young son dies.
Alec Baldwin fatal accident – Police publish first testimony
How did the fatal accident at the Santa Fe film site last Thursday come about? What exactly happened while filming at Bonanza Creek Ranch? There has been various speculations for days. There should have been glaring safety deficiencies in the low-budget production. The film crew including Halyna Hutchins had previously protested because of poor working conditions. In addition, the responsible weapon master (24) should have been inexperienced and overwhelmed. The assistant director was increasingly the focus of police investigations. The police have now published details from two investigation reports, as reported by the dpa news agency. The emergency call from the film set had already been published in advance *.
Alec Baldwin fatal accident while filming a western – police publish testimony
Accordingly, an assistant director had assured actor Alec Baldwin when handing over the pistol last Thursday that it was a “cold gun” without ammunition. According to his own statement, the assistant did not know that there was a cartridge in the weapon, according to the report published on Sunday (local time).
Director Joel Souza – Fatal shot of Alec Baldwin after lunch
The second report quotes statements by director Joel Souza (48) who was injured in the incident. He said the crew had returned to the set after a lunch break. However, he was not sure whether the weapon had been checked again. Hollywood star Baldwin (63) then sat on a bench in a church scene and rehearsed a scene with a gun.
Souza himself looked camerawoman Hutchins (42) over her shoulder to check the camera angle. Then he heard something that sounded like a whip and then like a loud bang. He vaguely remembered complaining of stomach pain, clutching herself, then stumbling backwards and falling to the ground. He himself was bleeding from his shoulder and could see blood on Hutchins.
Souza also confirms that a new camera crew had to be hired on Thursday morning because a team previously deployed had left production in the state of New Mexico. The Los Angeles Times reported on Friday that employees on the set complained about a lack of safety precautions and should have left the production facility in protest. On Wednesday the police want to inform about the investigation at a press conference, but have not yet given a time.
Baldwin accidentally shoots camerawoman – Serious allegations against assistant director
The assistant director who gave Baldwin the gun had already violated safety standards in an earlier production, a technician for special effects and pyrotechnics told NBC on Sunday. She had worked with the assistant in 2019 for the series “Into the Dark” at the streaming provider Hulu. The production team there stated that no complaints had been made at the time.
The production company Rust Movie Productions rejected the allegations. There were no official complaints about the safety of weapons or props on the set, the New York Times quoted from a statement. Filming of the low-budget western, in which Baldwin also worked as a producer, began at the Bonanza Creek Ranch in early October and was interrupted after the accident.
As a consequence of the fatal incident on “Rust”, the US broadcaster ABC banned live ammunition on the set for its series “The Rookie” with immediate effect on Friday, as reported by the film magazine The Hollywood Reporter . During previous filming, live ammunition was occasionally used in outdoor scenes, it said. (dpa / ml)
