It has been nearly 10 months since actor Alec Baldwin’s prop gun was discharged on a New Mexico film set, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza. Now, the FBI has completed its forensics investigation, and handed the case over to the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office.
On Aug. 2, sheriff’s detectives received the FBI’s completed forensic reports on the shooting, which occurred on the set of the movie “Rust” near Santa Fe on Oct. 21, 2021.
Those FBI reports were immediately forwarded to the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator (OMI), which had advised sheriff’s office so they too could finalize their investigation, according to a news release from the sheriff’s office.
The sheriff’s office received the official OMI reports on Wednesday.
Detectives from the Suffolk County Police Department in New York, where Baldwin has a home, are also aiding in the investigation, and are working to obtain, process and disclose Baldwin’s phone records, the sheriff’s office said. Those records are forthcoming.
“The district attorney’s office has been working with Suffolk County PD, and Baldwin’s lawyer, to acquire the phone records,” Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said in a statement. “Once Suffolk County PD completes its agency assist and sends those records to New Mexico law enforcement, our detectives will need to then thoroughly review those phone records for evidentiary purposes.”
Earlier this month, Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwie said in a statement that she was awaiting the completed investigation from the sheriff’s office, and once she received it, her office would “begin the screening process and any necessary follow-up investigation.”
“To date, my office has received portions of the Rust investigation from SFSO but is still awaiting the balance of supplemental reports including, but not limited to, the following: FBI firearm and tool mark analyses, forensic testing on the firearm itself, the forensic download from Suffolk County PD of Mr. Baldwin’s phone, and the pathology report from the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator,” Carmack-Altwie said.
Carmack-Altwie said once she receives all necessary reports, she and her team will make a charging decision.
On the afternoon of Oct. 21, 2021, a single live round from a Pietta Colt .45 revolver fired by Baldwin struck and killed the 42-year-old Hutchins and wounded the 48-year-old Souza.
The 63-year-old Baldwin was inside a church building, sitting on a wooden pew, rehearsing unholstering his prop gun and pointing it at the camera when he fired it, according to a previous search warrant filed by sheriff’s investigators. Hutchins was hit in the chest and Souza in the shoulder.
Baldwin has called the incident a “tragic accident.” In an emotional interview in December 2021, Baldwin told ABC News he had no idea there was a live round in the gun. He said he didn’t realize it had killed Hutchins and injured director Souza until hours after the shooting.
Bodycam footage released in April by the Santa Fe Sheriff’s Office shows Baldwin holding the gun before the incident, and Hutchins and Souza on the ground surrounded by first responders after they were shot. The video also shows Baldwin telling two officers that he did not pull the trigger. He is seen telling the officers he didn’t know who put a live round in the weapon.
