Alec Baldwin’s Fatal Prop Gun Accident Occurred During a Rehearsal, Authorities Say

Over the weekend, authorities released new details about the prop firearm accident that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on set of the upcoming western film Rust. According to information provided to police by director Joel Souza (which was later obtained by Entertainment Weekly), Alec Baldwin was rehearsing a scene inside a church at Santa Fe, New Mexico’s Bonanza Creek Ranch when the incident occurred.

Per the affidavits, the rehearsal involved Baldwin “cross drawing his weapon and then pointing the revolver towards the camera lens” before firing. Baldwin pulled the trigger on a prop gun that unexpectedly fired a live round, resulting in Hutchins’ death. Following the accident, she was airlifted to a hospital, where she later died. Souza, who was standing near Hutchins, was also hit but has reportedly been released from the hospital.

The Los Angeles Times reported over the weekend that hours before the tragedy, a half-dozen camera crew works walked off the Rust set to protest working conditions. According to the LAT, someone on set was alarmed by previous prop gun misfires and reported these qualms to the unit production manager via text message. “We’ve now had 3 accidental discharges. This is super unsafe,” they reportedly wrote.

According to the Associated Press, an assistant director accidentally handed Baldwin a loaded weapon and told him it was safe to use moments before the shooting, court records released Friday show.

“Cold gun,” assistant director Dave Halls reportedly announced, according to a search warrant filed in a Santa Fe court.

While the warrant did not implicate Halls, it states that the weapon was one of three that the film’s armorer, Hannah Gutierrez, had set on a cart near the set.

TMZ reports that Gutirrez recently expressed self-doubt about serving as the film’s armorer due to her experience level. “You know, I was really nervous about it at first, and I almost didn’t take the job because I wasn’t sure if I was ready … but, doing it, like, it went really smoothly,” she said on the “Voices of the West” podcast last month.