Rust Shooting Report 'On Track' For Release This Week
By Kristin Myers on April 19, 2022 at 12:00 PM EDT
The “Rust” shooting is back in the headlines once again.
The New Mexico safety agency that has been tasked with investigating possible workplace safety violations on the Western film set will release its report by Thursday. The news was announced by the spokesperson for the New Mexico Environment Department, as per Deadline.
‘Rust’ Shooting Investigation Will Be Released By Thursday
As Deadline reported, New Mexico law requires that if the state’s Occupational Health & Safety Bureau plans to file citations against the film’s production company, it must do so within six months of the incident.
In October 2021, “Rust” cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed and director Joel Souza was injured after a gun that was held by actor Alec Baldwin discharged. A spokesperson for the New Mexico Environment Department, Matthew Maeza, said, “We are on track to release the report by the April 21 deadline. I don’t have details about the report findings to share at this time.”
A day after the shooting, the department’s deputy cabinet secretary, Rebecca Roose told Deadline that “Our state OSHA program is investigating this. The state takes all workplace safety issues very seriously and will work diligently through our investigation of this tragic fatality.” In January 2022, she said, “Our investigation is looking into possible workplace safety violations by the Rust production company.”
Santa Fe Sheriff’s Office Continues To Probe ‘Rust’ Shooting
The Santa Fe Sheriff’s Office continues to investigate what happened on the “Rust” set at the Bonanza Creek Ranch last October. Criminal charges have yet to be filed against actor Alec Baldwin. However, a wrongful death suit has been filed by the Hutchins family against Baldwin and the other “Rust” producers last February.
The investigation by the state’s Occupational Health and Safety Bureau, a division of the New Mexico Environment Department, can levy fines against the film’s production company. However, it cannot press criminal charges. It remains to be seen if Santa Fe Sheriff’s Department will hold Alec Baldwin criminally responsible for the incident.
Baldwin previously claimed that he was told that the gun was not loaded. He also claims that, although he was holding the gun, he did not fire it.
Alec Baldwin Insists He ‘Didn’t Pull The Trigger’ In Fatal 'Rust' Shooting
During a previous ABC News interview, Baldwin insisted that he did not pull the trigger on the gun that he was holding when it discharged, struck, and killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. At one point in the interview, George Stephanopoulos asks Baldwin about the scene in question. Stephanopoulos states, “It wasn’t in the script for the trigger to be pulled.”
“Well, the trigger wasn’t pulled,” Baldwin responds. “I didn’t pull the trigger.”
Stephanopoulos repeats, “So you never pulled the trigger?”
“No, no, no, no,” Baldwin says. “I would never point a gun at anyone and pull the trigger at them, never.”
Stephanopoulos also asks Baldwin, “How did a real bullet get on that set?”
“I have no idea,” Baldwin replies. “Someone put a live bullet in a gun. A bullet that wasn’t even supposed to be on the property.”
Baldwin also revealed that Halyna was someone that everyone liked and admired.
“She was someone who was loved by everyone who worked with [her], and liked by everyone who worked with [her], and admired,” Baldwin said. “I mean, even now… I find it hard to believe that [it happened]. It just doesn’t seem real to me.”
‘Rust’ Armorer Claims She Was NOT Asked To Inspect Alec Baldwin’s Gun Prior To Scene
In a statement first reported by CNN, “Rust” armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed responded to a legal filing in which Baldwin said that Reed told him to prime the revolver. She is accusing Baldwin of violating gun safety rules on set.
“My. Baldwin knew that he could never point a firearm at crew members under any circumstances and had a duty of safety to his fellow crew members,” she claimed. “Yet he did point the gun at Halyna before the fatal incident against all rules and common sense.”
The filing said that Baldwin and other “Rust” producers “had a duty and responsibility to call Hannah in for inspection of the gun and safety instruction before any gun scene was conducted.” However, “Hannah was not called into the Church before the impromptu gun scene rehearsal and she should have been.”
Reed claims that she did not know what was happening inside the church set on the day of the shooting.
