Police Release 551-Page Report Detailing Alec Baldwin 'Rust' Shooting
By Kristin Myers on November 18, 2022 at 5:15 PM EST
Updated on November 18, 2022 at 5:17 PM EST
In October 2021, a gun that actor Alec Baldwin was holding on the set of the Western film "Rust" discharged. A live bullet struck and killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injured director Joel Souza.
The shooting has been the subject of a police investigation by the Santa Fe police department over the past year. Last month, the report was handed over to New Mexico District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies, who is reviewing the details of the investigation and will potentially pursue charges against multiple individuals involved in the "Rust" incident.
Although it was initially announced that the report would be sealed, the Santa Fe police department made the report public on Friday, November 18.
'Rust' Police Report Contains Alec Baldwin's Text Messages, Halyna Hutchins' Autopsy, An Interview With Joel Souza, And Much More
The “Rust” police report contains everything from text message receipts to invoices to insurance forms to a postmortem examination report and DOJ firearm trace. A letter was sent from Sheriff Mendoza to Special Agent in Charge Raul Bujanda on October 26, 2021, requesting assistance for “a shooting and death investigation at the Bonanza Creek Ranch.”
They asked for assistance “in the processing of evidence, not limited to, but to include, ballistic, firearm and tool marking analysis.” According to the postmortem examination, Hutchins was flown to UNMH after the shooting where she arrived in asystole at around 15:20. She was pronounced dead approximately 20 minutes later at 15:37.
The autopsy showed that the bullet had entered the right side of her chest and perforated her right lung, then passed through her body and exited out the left side of her book. A toxicology report found no drugs or alcohol in her body at the time of death. A gunshot wound to the chest was listed as her official cause of death.
Director Joel Souza had been standing behind Hutchins when the gun was fired. According to the medical examiner’s report, Baldwin “raised the firearm towards the camera as part of the rehearsal, which subsequently discharges and struck Ms. Hutchins, as well as the director, who was reportedly standing behind Ms. Hutchins. The projectile was later recovered from the director at a hospital.”
According to the list of evidence collected by law enforcement officials, they took possession of “One (1) white in color box with writing ‘Dummy Rounds 45LC’ containing sixteen (16) ’45 Colt’ suspected dummy rounds with ball bearings and silver in color primers and one (1) ’45 Colt’ round with silver in color primer, suspected live round, collected from prop truck.”
Director Joel Souza Claims Alec Baldwin Was Never Meant To Fire The Gun
Page 154 contains the police interview with director Joel Souza, who discussed what happened the day of the fatal shooting. At first, Joel believed that it was “Wadding from a blank” before hospital staff told him that he had been struck by a bullet. Joel said that the first assistant director, Dave Halls, was responsible for gun safety on set. On the day in question, October 21, Joel says he remembers that Dave had announced that it was a “cold gun,” which means it was a gun that did not contain live rounds, before the crew took a break for lunch.
Joel does not know who brought the gun onto the set, but he did say that the scene did not require Alec Baldwin to draw his firearm for the scene. The report reads, ‘Joel explained, the shot required Alec to slowly draw the gun and partially take it out of the holster. When asked if the shot required Alec to fully draw the weapon and point it, Joel stated ‘no’ because they didn’t get that far.”
Alec Baldwin's Text Messages Show An Exchange Between Him and Matt Hutchins
Page 260 contains relevant text messages and email conversations from Alec Baldwin, who asked if he would be criminally charged in the shooting on November 10, 2021. The text messages also show that Alec was in contact with Halyna’s husband, Matt Hutchins, since October 23, 2021. On November 10, 2021, the same day Alec asked if he would be criminally charged, he sent a text message to Matt saying, “I will leave you be for a while.”
On December 10, 2021, Alec sent another message to Matt, saying, “Important for you to keep in mind: The Santa Fe Sheriffs' office may lack both the skill and the will to properly investigate the sabotage angle. I'm told their agenda is to write it off as an accident and throw it to the civil courts."
"And yet, the more information that is presented to me about certain anomalies on that day, the more open-minded I become," Baldwin continued. "I dismissed the sabotage claim initially. But not know. I hope these NM have the sense to follow it through.”
