Following the shock of the news of the accident during the filming of the movie Rust, in which Alec Baldwin unintentionally took the life of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, director Joel Souza offered details of what happened exactly.
The filming of the movie was taking place at Rancho Bonanza Creek in New Mexico. It was there that Baldwin was practicing how to pull the gun, according to CNN.
According to Souza’s sworn statement to authorities: “Baldwin was sitting on a bench around a church building, and he was practicing drawing the gun in a criss-cross fashion.” It should be noted that, according to the director, this maneuver is done when a person draws the gun from the opposite side of the hand.
Souza stated that he was watching over the director’s shoulder when the shot was fired: “I heard a noise like a whip and then a loud bang.” After the detonation, the director indicated that he saw Halyna Hutchins complaining of pain in her stomach, “clutching her waist.”
On the other hand, cameraman Reid Russel was standing next to Souza and Hutchins when the accident occurred and assured authorities that while Hutchins was receiving medical attention, she said she could not feel her legs.
Other reports claim that on the day of the tragedy, there were complications on the set due to labor problems with crew members. Several crew members had stopped working for pay and lodging. Because of that, they only had one camera for filming at the time; however, it was not used when the shooting occurred.
Souza also added to his statement that he heard a staff person say “cold gun,” which is a term used on the set of movies to indicate that the gun was empty. He also noted that the guns had been handled by three people before being used in the scenes including the gunsmith and the first assistant director; all this before handing it over to the actor.
According to the investigator, who spoke exclusively to CNN, there was no check to verify that any person on the set used live ammunition: “The only thing that is checked is the firearms to avoid having live ammunition in them. Joel Souza said there should never be live bullets near or around the scene.”
According to the cameraman himself, during the exact moment of the shooting, “Baldwin was trying to explain how he was going to draw the firearm and where his arm would be when the gun was taken out of the holster.”
The EFE agency also pointed out that, in a statement held by the Santa Ana County Court, Baldwin had been warned that the prop gun had no bullets in it. According to different versions, the assistant director of the production, Dave Halls, shouted “cold gun” when he passed the gun to Baldwin. However, the gun was loaded.
Halls was questioned about the safety and his behavior on the set, as according to different accusations, the assistant director had previously minimized the protocols for the use of pyrotechnics, as well as blocked fire exits.
Translated by María Isabel Carrasco Cara Chards
