The prop gun used by Alec Baldwin in a tragic shooting accident on a film set was given to him by an assistant director, legal documents revealed.
Tragedy stuck on the set of 63-year-old Alec’s latest film, Rust, when he fired a prop gun – accidentally killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza.
The incident took place at a 2,000-acre ranch in New Mexico – with police opening an investigation following the fatal shooting on Thursday.
While a police warrant has uncovered details of the moments leading up to the fatal accident – and the names of an armourer and assistant director have been revealed via a call sheet from the film.
The MailOnline reports that an armourer “laid out three prop guns on a cart outside the filming location.”
And that an assistant director named Dave Halls subsequently “grabbed the gun from the cart and brought it inside to Baldwin, unaware that it was loaded with live rounds.”
They also report that Mr Halls shouted “Cold gun!” to signify that the weapon would be safe to use on set, before handing the prop to Alec.
The Wall Street Journal has identified the film’s armourer as 24-year-old Hanna Gutierrez Reed – who is the daughter of esteemed armorer and firearms consultant Thell Reed, who reportedly trained her “from a young age”.
Meanwhile, TMZ reports that a warrant has revealed the gun used by Alec was “loaded with a live round.”
They report: “The warrant says the assistant director didn’t know the gun was loaded, but it doesn’t mention who actually loaded the gun.”
And they go on to report that Alec’s “blood-stained costume from the movie has been taken as evidence, as well as the gun that went off, plus other prop guns and ammo being used on set.”
The police investigation so far has also reported that 42-year-old Halyna had been “shot in the chest” – where previous reports have stated she was shot in the stomach.
Halyna was flown to University of New Mexico Hospital but was sadly pronounced dead when she arrived.
Meanwhile, 48-year-old director Joel has reportedly been discharged from hospital after he was treated after being hit by a bullet during the incident.
Details from the police reports and warrant also revealed the bullet struck Joel in the shoulder as he was: “stood behind Halyna” when she was shot.
Further reports have revealed a large number of unionised crew walked out on the film a day before the accident due to disputes over work conditions – and were “replaced by locals”.
The New York Post reports the unnamed prop master who oversaw the gun used in the fatal shooting had been “just brought in” to replace unionised staff who had walked out.
The LA Times claims crew had organised a walkout due to concerns over having accommodation for their filming an hour away from location – with some crew allegedly too tired to drive the hour at the end of the day.
It was reported that the crew who were walking out arrived to set on Thursday to find they had “been replaced by locals” – raising questions over the training and experience the replacement crew had.
Alec released a statement on Friday as Hollywood reeled from the news of the devastating accident.
He wrote: “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.”
Image Credit: Getty
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