SANTA FE, N.M. — Authorities have determined the projectile that fatally wounded cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was a lead bullet, one of roughly 500 rounds of ammunition recovered from the set of the film “Rust,” Santa Fe County authorities announced Wednesday.
During a news conference, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said the deadly projectile was recovered from director Joel Souza’s shoulder at an area hospital.
“We also believe that we have the spent shell casing from the bullet that was fired from the gun,” Mendoza said.
That shell casing, along with the lead projectile and “possible additional live rounds” recovered from the set, will be submitted to the FBI crime lab in Quantico, Virginia.
Hutchins was fatally shot by what Mendoza described as a Colt .45 revolver fired by actor and producer Alec Baldwin on the set of the film outside Santa Fe last week.
The hundreds of rounds recovered on set were a mixture of “blanks, dummy rounds and what we are suspecting were live rounds,” according to Mendoza. Additional rounds were found inside the weapon Baldwin fired, according to Mendoza, though it wasn’t clear whether those projectiles were blanks or live ammunition.
Two other people handled the firearm besides Baldwin: production armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed and first assistant director Dave Halls, according to court records. Halls said he inspected the revolver shortly after the fatal shot was fired and saw four “dummy casings” inside, according to a search warrant affidavit made public Wednesday morning.
Mendoza said a total of three firearms were recovered from the set. The weapon Baldwin fired was an FD Pietta Colt .45 revolver. The other weapons were a single action Army revolver with a modified cylinder, which may not have been able to fire rounds, and an inoperable plastic Colt .45 revolver. Baldwin was playing an outlaw in 1880s Kansas in “Rust,” wielding popular frontier firearms.
Mendoza also said that his office is investigating rumors that members of the crew may have engaged in recreational shooting on the ranch property.
“I would encourage anybody that has any information that any target practicing or any firearm was discharged away from the movie set for practice or for whatever reason, to contact the sheriff,” he said.
The news conference was held outside the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office, about 10 miles from the Bonanza Creek Ranch set where “Rust” was being filmed. Mendoza was joined by New Mexico 1st Judicial District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies, who will ultimately decide what, if any, criminal charges will be filed in the case.
While she acknowledged the case was legally “complex,” Carmack-Altwies declined to comment on any potential charges or provide a timeline of when she might reach a decision. The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office’s investigation of the shooting is active, according to Mendoza, who said his detectives have several witnesses they still need to interview.
“If the facts and evidence and law support charges, then I will initiate prosecution at that time,” Carmack-Altwies said. “I’m a prosecutor that was elected, in part, because I do not make rash decisions and I do not rush to judgment.”
When asked whether Baldwin could potentially face criminal charges, Carmack-Altwies said that “all options are on the table at this point,” stressing that she would not speculate about who, if anyone, might be legally culpable in the shooting.
Carmack-Altwies said there was no precedent for a case like this in Santa Fe County. The news conference marked the first time the two lead law enforcement officials on the case have addressed the public since the fatal shooting — a tragedy that comes amid a broader reckoning around working conditions and safety on film sets.
Court records made public Wednesday offered a more specific chronology of the critical moments leading up to the shooting and shed additional light on some of the safety protocols on set.
