A distraught Alec Baldwin lingers in the parking lot outside the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office Thursday, October 20, 2021, after he was questioned about a shooting on the set of the film Rust.
Jason Seigal, who worked with Haylna Hutchins in the camera department for the film Rust, is comforted following the candlelight vigil for cinematographer at Civic Plaza in Albuquerque in October 2021. A medic who tried to save Hutchins’ life after the shooting set shooting received a $1.15 million settlement in a civil case after saying she was traumatized by the experience.
Sheriff Adan Mendoza and District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies spoke to a large group of reporters gathered at a joint news conference Wednesday with the district attorney to discuss new details on his agency’s investigation of the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
Rust armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed sits in the back of a patrol unit after Hutchins’ Oct. 21 death. A report released Monday, part of a trove of documents released by authorities, said Gutierrez-Reed was examined by medics "due to her hyperventilating."
Actor Alec Baldwin gets emotional in a television interview Dec. 2, 2021, with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos about the deadly shooting. Baldwin said, “I feel that … someone is responsible for what happened, and I can’t say who that is, but I know it’s not me.”
An aerial photo shows a film set at the Bonanza Creek Ranch near Santa Fe. Actor Alec Baldwin was using a prop gun Oct. 21 on the set of a Western film at the ranch when the firearm went off, killing the cinematographer, officials said.
A distraught Alec Baldwin lingers in the parking lot outside the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office Thursday, October 20, 2021, after he was questioned about a shooting on the set of the film Rust.
Jason Seigal, who worked with Haylna Hutchins in the camera department for the film Rust, is comforted following the candlelight vigil for cinematographer at Civic Plaza in Albuquerque in October 2021. A medic who tried to save Hutchins’ life after the shooting set shooting received a $1.15 million settlement in a civil case after saying she was traumatized by the experience.
Sheriff Adan Mendoza and District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies spoke to a large group of reporters gathered at a joint news conference Wednesday with the district attorney to discuss new details on his agency’s investigation of the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
Rust armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed sits in the back of a patrol unit after Hutchins’ Oct. 21 death. A report released Monday, part of a trove of documents released by authorities, said Gutierrez-Reed was examined by medics "due to her hyperventilating."
Santa Fe Sheriff's Office
Actor Alec Baldwin gets emotional in a television interview Dec. 2, 2021, with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos about the deadly shooting. Baldwin said, “I feel that … someone is responsible for what happened, and I can’t say who that is, but I know it’s not me.”
Image from video
An aerial photo shows a film set at the Bonanza Creek Ranch near Santa Fe. Actor Alec Baldwin was using a prop gun Oct. 21 on the set of a Western film at the ranch when the firearm went off, killing the cinematographer, officials said.
Oct. 6, 2021: The New Mexico Film Office announces production is underway near Santa Fe for Rust, a Western feature film about a teen boy who goes on the run with his estranged grandfather after the boy is sentenced to hang for a rancher's death. Alec Baldwin is the star and one of the producers.
Oct. 21: Santa Fe County sheriff’s deputies are dispatched to Bonanza Creek Ranch south of the city around 2 p.m. after receiving a report of a shooting on the Rust set. The sheriff's office later says Baldwin has discharged a "prop firearm," killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza. A distraught Baldwin is photographed outside the sheriff's office in tears, talking on his cellphone.
Oct. 22: A search warrant affidavit says Rust cast and crew members were inside a church building at the movie ranch for a rehearsal when assistant director David Halls grabbed a prop gun from a rolling cart outside, handed the weapon to Baldwin and yelled, "Cold gun," indicating it didn't contain live rounds. Shortly after, the affidavit says, Hutchins was struck in the chest, and Souza was wounded in the shoulder with the same bullet.
Oct. 23: About 400 mourners gather at the Albuquerque Civic Plaza to honor 42-year-old Hutchins, a promising cinematographer and a wife and mother, for an event organized by the Santa Fe chapter of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees Local 480. Some people speak about safety concerns that were mounting before Hutchins' death. "A lot of rules were broken, and I guess people don’t know the procedure," one IATSE crew member tells The New Mexican.
Oct. 24: The Los Angeles Times reports Rust producers are halting the film production.
Oct. 27: Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza and First Judicial District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies hold a news conference that draws global media attention. Mendoza says his office has collected hundreds of rounds of ammunition from the Rust set, including some believed to be live. Mendoza says no criminal charges have been filed, but Carmack-Altwies notes “all options are on the table” and “no one has been ruled out at this point” — including Baldwin. Investigators say a live round was fired from the .45 caliber Colt revolver Baldwin had used on the set. State officials release a second search warrant affidavit, which says armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed told investigators she had checked the ammunition Oct. 21 to ensure there were no live rounds.
Oct. 29: Gutierrez-Reed comes under fire. Her attorneys tell news media, "Safety is Hannah’s number one priority on set. Ultimately this set would never have been compromised if live ammo were not introduced. Hannah has no idea where the live rounds came from."
Nov. 10: Serge Svetnov, the chief electrician on the Rust set, files a negligence lawsuit in Los Angeles against Baldwin and other producers, accusing them of failing to implement safety standards. It will be one of many civil cases tied to the shooting.
Nov. 17: The New York Times reports Rust script supervisor Mamie Mitchell has filed a lawsuit against the producers, including Baldwin, alleging assault and intentional infliction of emotional distress and requesting an unspecified amount in damages. (A Los Angeles judge will later dismiss the civil case.)
Nov. 30: A new search warrant affidavit suggests there was a mix of live and dummy rounds on the Rust set. The warrant says Gutierrez-Reed purchased dummy ammunition from Seth Kenney, the owner of PDQ Arm & Prop LLC in Albuquerque. Armorer Thell Reed, Gutierrez-Reed's father, told investigators he once brought live ammunition to a training session for Kenney, who kept some of that ammo, according to the affidavit.
Dec. 2: A visibly distressed Baldwin appears on an ABC News show to talk about the accident and says, "I didn't pull the trigger. … Somebody put a live bullet in the gun."
Jan. 13: Gutierrez-Reed files the first lawsuit in New Mexico tied to the shooting, accusing Kenney of supplying her with mislabeled dummy ammunition that included live rounds. The suit describes a "rushed and chaotic" environment on the set, which created a "perfect storm" for safety breaches. The suit details two other accidental discharges, both on Oct. 16.
Jan. 14: The sheriff's office says Baldwin has turned in his cellphone to law enforcement officials in Suffolk County, N.Y., in compliance with a December search warrant for the phone’s contents.
Feb. 15: Hutchins' family files a wrongful-death lawsuit against Baldwin and others in the First Judicial District Court in Santa Fe. The suit alleges the defendants, including Gutierrez-Reed and Kenney, failed to perform standard safety checks and failed to follow basic gun safety rules.
April 20: The New Mexico Environment Department's Occupational Health and Safety Bureau issues a report saying the Rust producers "willfully violated" safety rules, which led to Hutchins' death. That agency fines Rust Movie Productions LLC about $137,000, the maximum amount allowed under New Mexico law.
April 25: The sheriff's office releases a trove of records in the Rust investigation, including text messages between Gutierrez-Reed and Kenney about live rounds. She asks him whether she can shoot “hot rounds” on a movie set. Kenney warns her never to shoot live ammunition out of prop guns — calling it a “serious mistake” that “always ends in tears.” But Gutierrez-Reed brushes him off, telling him, “I’m still gonna shoot mine.” The records also include an email from Lane Luper, a camera assistant, to production manager Row Walters about gun safety concerns. “During the filming of gunfights on this job things are often played very fast and loose,” Luper writes. “So far there have been 2 accidental weapons discharges. … To be clear, there are NO safety meetings.”
Aug. 4: Carmack-Altwies names Andrea Reeb, who headed the Clovis-area District Attorney’s Office for eight years, as a special prosecutor in the Rust case.
Aug. 9: The Occupational Health and Safety Bureau issues a formal complaint against the Rust producers.
Aug. 11: Mendoza says investigators are waiting for Baldwin’s cellphone records before they will be able to complete their report on the shooting.
Aug. 16: The sheriff's office releases FBI reports on tests the bureau conducted on more than 40 pieces of evidence. The FBI’s findings indicate the revolver was fully functional and unlikely to discharge without the trigger being pulled. An Office of the Medical Investigator report classifies Hutchins' death as accidental. Baldwin's cellphone records are on their way to New Mexico.
Sept. 22: The New Mexico Board of Finance awards the District Attorney’s Office more than $317,000 to prosecute any criminal charges in the case. Carmack-Altwies says four people could face charges, but she declines to name them. Baldwin is mentioned as a "possible defendant" according to her funding request.
Oct. 5: Baldwin announces he has reached a settlement agreement with Hutchins' family. The terms of deal are sealed. Hutchins' husband, Matthew Hutchins, says in a statement Rust will resume filming in January.
