Baldwin not free of criminal charges in shooting incident: report

Criminal charges remain after an accidental shooting on Alec Baldwin film

LOS ANGELES:

Criminal charges have not been ruled out in a fatal accidental shooting by actor Alec Baldwin on the set of a western film, the local district attorney said on Tuesday. The accident happened on the set of Rust at the Bonanza Creek Ranch near Santa Fe on Thursday.

Hutchins, 42, was killed and director Joel Souza, 48, was injured when a revolver that Baldwin was using during rehearsal was discharged. The actor had been told the gun was not loaded, according to court documents.

The inventory list, filed in Santa Fe County Magistrate Court, showed investigators also had recovered three black revolvers, spent casings, a gun belt, and other items.

One of the central mysteries about the killing of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins remains what kind of projectile was fired from the gun and how it got there. Investigators hope a forensic analysis of ballistic evidence will shed light on those questions, Juan Rios, spokesman for the Santa Fe Sheriff's Department, said on Monday.

Santa Fe County District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies, in an interview with the New York Times also said it was incorrect to refer to the firearm used in the incident as a “prop gun,” as has been done in media reports.

“It was a legit gun,” Carmack-Altwies told the paper. “It was an antique-era appropriate gun.”

The prosecutor said an “enormous amount of bullets” had been found on the set and an investigation was needed into the nature of that ammunition.