Actor Alec Baldwin on Friday filed a lawsuit in California against several individuals associated with the "Rust" film, according to a cross-complaint obtained by CNN.Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was fatally shot by the actor last October during a rehearsal for a scene for the movie, which was being filmed near Santa Fe, New Mexico.The lawsuit is the first legal action in which Baldwin alleges wrongdoing against someone in relation to the shooting.Baldwin, who is listed as a defendant in a 2021 lawsuit by a "Rust" script supervisor, filed the cross-complaint against the production's armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed, assistant director David Halls, armorer assistant Seth Kenney, the prop weapon and ammunition supply store company Kenney owns, and prop master Sarah Zachry."More than anyone else on that set, Baldwin has been wrongfully viewed as the perpetrator of this tragedy. By these Cross-Claims, Baldwin seeks to clear his name and hold Cross-Defendants accountable for their misconduct," the cross-complaint says."This tragedy happened because live bullets were delivered to the set and loaded into the gun, Gutierrez Reed failed to check the bullets or the gun carefully, Halls failed to check the gun carefully and yet announced the gun was safe before handing it to Baldwin, and Zachry failed to disclose that Gutierrez Reed had been acting recklessly off set and was a safety risk to those around her," the complaint alleges, adding Baldwin was unaware of those facts, but the cross-defendants knew."These Cross Defendants are professionals who owed a duty to those on set, including Baldwin, to keep the set safe. Everyone on set, including Baldwin, expected and trusted them to do so. Hutchins never would have instructed Baldwin to point the gun in her direction and pull back the hammer if she thought the slightest possibility existed that it was loaded; Baldwin, who shared the same state of mind as Hutchins in that critical moment, wouldn't have done so under such conditions," the lawsuit claims.Baldwin is seeking "compensatory, nominal, statutory, and punitive damages" through a jury trial, litigation-related expenses, and other relief to be determined by the Los Angeles County Superior Court, the cross-complaint says.In an August 2022 interview with CNN, Baldwin placed responsibility for the film set tragedy on Gutierrez Reed and Halls, who handed him the gun.Jason Bowles, attorney for Gutierrez Reed, told CNN on Friday: "He was the one who shot Halyna, and it's his fault, no one else's."Asked in August for comment, Halls' attorney accused Baldwin of deflecting blame onto others.Kenney's attorneys have previously denied responsibility in the shooting.CNN reached out Friday to attorneys representing Halls and Kenney for comment on the lawsuit. CNN is seeking contact details for Zachary's attorney.

File video above: Legal analysis on charges filed against Alec Baldwin on 'Rust' movie set shooting

Prosecutors in the "Rust" fatal shooting case plan to file a notice to dismiss involuntary manslaughter charges against Alec Baldwin, his attorney, Luke Nikas, tells CNN.

CNN has contacted the special prosecutor in the Santa Fe, New Mexico case for comment.

Halyna Hutchins, the film's cinematographer, was struck and killed by a live round of ammunition fired from a prop gun being held by Baldwin while rehearsing a scene on the set of "Rust" in 2021. Baldwin has pleaded not guilty.

Director Joel Souza was also shot and injured.

Baldwin and "Rust" armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed were both charged with involuntary manslaughter in January. Baldwin pleaded not guilty. An attorney for Gutierrez Reed has previously said she will plead not guilty and has maintained her innocence. A preliminary hearing in her case is set for May 3.

Prosecutors already removed a firearm enhancement charge against Baldwin and Gutierrez Reed, reducing a potential prison sentence from 5 years to a maximum of 18 months.

"We are pleased with the decision to dismiss the case against Alec Baldwin and encourage a proper investigation into the facts and circumstances of this tragic accident," Baldwin's attorneys Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro told CNN.

Thursday's development comes one month after the special prosecutor in the case, Andrea Reeb, stepped down, following a motion by Baldwin's attorney to have Reeb disqualified as "unconstitutional" under New Mexico law due to her elected position in the New Mexico House of Representatives. Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies then also stepped away from the case and appointed long-time New Mexico attorneys Kari Morrissey and Jason Lewis to serve as special prosecutors.

Earlier this year, "Rust" assistant director Dave Halls and prosecutors reached a plea agreement "for the charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon." At the time, prosecutors said the terms of that deal include six months of probation and a suspended sentence.

As part of a wrongful death settlement between Matthew Hutchins, the widower of Halyna Hutchins, Baldwin and "Rust" producers, production on the film has resumed. Matthew Hutchins is now serving as an executive producer on the project.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The husband of a cinematographer shot and killed on the set of the film "Rust" says it's "absurd" that Alec Baldwin believes he's not to blame.

Matt Hutchins, the husband of Halyna Hutchins, made the remarks in an interview with the "Today" show that airs in full Thursday.

In the interview with Hoda Kotb, Hutchins said Baldwin and “multiple responsible parties” are to blame for his wife of 16 years' death.

Matt Hutchins says he was "so angry" when he heard Baldwin tell ABC News in December that he was not to blame for the shooting.

Baldwin said he was pointing the gun at Hutchins at her instruction as a scene was being set up on the New Mexico set, and it went off without him pulling the trigger.

In his interview with George Stephanopoulos, Baldwin said that he did not pull the trigger. He claimed he cocked the hammer, let the hammer go, and the gun went off.

Director Joel Souza, who was standing behind Hutchins, was injured in the Oct. 21 shooting.

Last week, Hutchins' family filed a wrongful death lawsuit in New Mexico alleging Baldwin, the production's assistant director Dave Halls, prop master Hannah Gutierrez-Reed and others that their “reckless" behavior resulted in her death.

After the death of a beloved cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the movie set of "Rust," a new Senate bill looks to require more gun safety classes for actors and film personnel.

"When that tragedy happened, I think every single New Mexican, every single American, their heart went out to Halyna Hutchins and just thought, how could this happen?" Republican Cliff Pirtle, who introduced the bill, said.

The "Rust" movie set shooting sent shock waves across the New Mexico film community and the world.

"The bill that I'm introducing today would ensure that on movie sets that there is some type of training for everybody that's employed by the production company to ensure that everybody has some type of some form of firearm training and a background in how to safely handle firearms," Pirtle said.

Pirtle said he's worked as an actor on several sets and shot revolvers with blanks. He said there isn't a law in New Mexico that requires firearm safety classes for actors and prop personnel. He believes adding one could help prevent incidents like the "Rust" movie set shooting from happening again.

Sister station KOAT reached out to the New Mexico Film Office and a spokesperson sent the following statement: "We are just in receipt of this newly introduced legislation by Senator Cliff Pirtle and are in the process of due diligence at this time."

Watch the video above for the full story.

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A new lawsuit accuses an ammunition supplier of creating dangerous conditions on a movie set where a gun held by actor Alec Baldwin killed a cinematographer, by including live ammunition in a box that was supposed to include only dummy rounds.

The lawsuit was filed in New Mexico state district court by Hannah Gutierrez Reed, the armorer who oversaw firearms, ammunition, and related training on the set of "Rust" alongside two assistants.

Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins died on Oct. 21 from a gunshot wound during a "Rust" rehearsal at a ranch on the outskirts of Santa Fe in northern New Mexico.

The Associated Press reported days after the shooting that the movie had been halted, but producers said it was "a pause rather than an end."

According to the news outlet, Baldwin was explaining moments before the shooting occurred how he was going to draw the revolver from his holster.

Baldwin was handed the gun by an assistant director who wasn't aware it was loaded with live rounds, the AP reported.

Hutchins was killed and director Joel Souza, who was standing behind her, was wounded, the news outlet reported.

Authorities are still trying to execute a search warrant issued in December for 'Rust' actor Alec Baldwin's cellphone. It was issued on Dec. 17 by the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Department.

In a video posted to Instagram, Baldwin said, "the best way to honor the death of Halyna Hutchins is to find out the truth."

New Mexico's First Judicial District Attorney released this statement just a few days ago, saying the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office is working with a New York Sheriff's Department to execute this warrant.

Sister station KOAT legal expert John Day said search warrants like these are usually routine and take a few days at most.

"Normally, search warrants have to be executed within ten days of their being issued. What we see here is an extended delay. The evidence is supposed to be gathered within 10 days. If you go beyond that, how stale is that search warrant information?"

He says the more time passes, the greater the possibility of something happening to the evidence on that phone. What exactly are investigators looking for in Baldwin's phone?

"What they're looking for is communications between Alec Baldwin and other people connected to the production about guns, ammunition and shooting," Day said.

Day says investigators will have to switch their focus to cell service providers if the information is deleted from the phone. They'll be able to issue search warrants or subpoenas to find it.

Day also says authorities could issue search warrants for the people Baldwin was communicating with to ensure no information was deleted from Baldwin's phone.

Watch the video above for the full story.

The script supervisor on the set of "Rust," Mamie Mitchell, has filed a lawsuit against actor and producer Alec Baldwin and other production figures over the on-set shooting that killed the film's cinematographer.

The lawsuit, which was filed in Los Angeles, accuses Baldwin of choosing "to play Russian roulette when he fired a gun without checking it and without having the armorer checking it in his presence," Mitchell's attorney, Gloria Allred, said Wednesday during a news conference announcing the lawsuit.

The lawsuit comes weeks after Baldwin fired a weapon on set on Oct. 21 that contained what investigators called a suspected live round, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, 42, and injuring director Joel Souza, 48. Baldwin has said he believed the gun did not have live rounds in it, according to court documents.

"Alec Baldwin should have assumed that the gun in question was loaded unless and until it was demonstrated to him or checked by him that it was not loaded," the lawsuit states.

In addition to Baldwin, the lawsuit names the film's production company, Rust Movie Productions, LLC, armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed, assistant director David Halls and other production members. Allred said the film's production team failed to follow industry procedures, creating an environment where "injury and death was more than a possibility, it was a likely result."

Gutierrez Reed is accused in Mitchell's lawsuit of allowing the gun to be left unattended during a lunch break on a rolling cart outside the building where the shooting occurred on the film set in New Mexico.

Attorneys for Gutierrez Reed have claimed that live rounds made it into a box of dummy rounds through "sabotage," but did not provide evidence to support the allegation. They also said she is devastated and heartbroken by the tragedy and cooperating with the investigation.

Mitchell is seeking financial compensation because she "was shocked, traumatized and ... suffered physical and emotional harm because of what she saw, heard and experienced when she was in the line of fire," Allred said during the news conference.

The script supervisor, a 40-year industry veteran, has not worked since the shooting.

The Santa Fe Sheriff's Office is investigating the shooting and hasn't yet released any findings.

Mitchell's lawsuit follows a similar one filed last week by Rust's chief lighting technician Serge Svetnoy, who sued Baldwin, Halls, Gutierrez Reed and other defendants for negligence that caused him "severe emotional distress."

CNN has reached out to the production company, representatives for Baldwin, Halls and Gutierrez Reed for comment.

Baldwin previously said he's cooperating with investigators, adding that he's eager to learn about the results of the investigation. He said authorities have instructed him not to speak about the ongoing investigation.

And Rust Movie Productions, LLC has said that the safety of the cast is "the top priority."

"Though we were not made aware of any official complaints concerning weapon or prop safety on set, we will be conducting an internal review of our procedures while production is shut down," the company said.

Mitchell describes moment of shooting in lawsuit

Mitchell said she was standing close to Hutchins and Souza when the shot was fired and was the first to call 911 for help on Oct. 21, telling them, "We need help immediately."

She described the moment the shooting happened as she read from a prepared statement during the Wednesday news conference.

"Deafening loud gunshot. I was stunned. I heard someone moaning, and I turned around and my director was falling backwards and holding his upper body and I turned around toward Alec and saw Halyna going down to the left of me," Mitchell said.

Mitchell's lawsuit said Halls handed the gun to Baldwin before it was fired. A search warrant affidavit filed last month said Halls yelled, "cold gun," which means the firearms didn't have live rounds, before handing the gun to Baldwin.

But earlier this month, Halls' attorney, Lisa Torraco, told Fox News that it wasn't Halls' job to check the weapon.

"He's not responsible for checking it. ... That's not the assistant director's job. If he chooses to check the firearm because he wants to make sure that everyone's safe, he can do that, but that's not his responsibility," Torraco said.

Mitchell's lawsuit points to Baldwin for not checking the weapon before using it.

"He had no right to rely upon some alleged statement by the Assistant Director that it was a 'cold gun,'" the lawsuit claims, referring to Baldwin.

Allred, Mitchell's attorney, added that Baldwin unexpectedly discharged the weapon, even though no rehearsal was scheduled at that time — noting that even if they were filming the scene, it did not include firing a weapon.

The lawsuit also claims that Mitchell believes that there were two prior misfiring incidents — one by Baldwin's stunt double and "a prop master who accidentally shot herself in the foot."

The "Rust" armorer, Hannah Gutierrez Reed, loaded the gun with what she thought were dummy rounds before Alec Baldwin used it on set, fatally shooting the movie's cinematographer, lawyers for the armorer said in an interview.

"There was a box of dummy rounds and the box is labeled dummy. Hannah did take from that box which she by all accounts should have been able to rely on, that contains only dummy rounds," said Gutierrez Reed's lawyer Jason Bowles. "She loaded rounds from that box into the handgun only to later find out -- and she had no idea -- she inspected the rounds, that there was a live round. Now we don't know, however, whether that live round came from that box. We're assuming it did. We're assuming somebody put the live round in that box, which if you think about that, the person who put the live round in the box of dummy rounds had to have the purpose of sabotaging this set. There's no other reason you would do that."

Bowles said, "I think... you can't rule anybody out at this point. because we know a couple of facts: We know there was a live round in a box of dummy rounds that shouldn't have been there, at least one live round. We had people who had left the set, who had walked out because they were disgruntled. We have a timeframe between 11 and one approximately that day in which the firearms at times were unattended. So there was opportunity to tamper with this scene."

Another lawyer for Gutierrez Reed, Robert Gorence, said the prop truck "was completely unattended at all times," leaving "access and opportunity" to access the ammunition.

"The tray was outside the church for over two hours unattended after she had prepped that for what was going to be an afternoon filming session outside of the church," Gorence told NBC.

Her lawyers said that Gutierrez Reed was in the church at the time of the shooting because the gathering was just supposed to be technical preparation, which would not require her presence.

Gutierrez Reed was the armorer as well as key props assistant on the film. She handed the weapon discharged by Baldwin to assistant director David Halls, according to her attorneys.

Bowles said the armorer spun the chamber of the gun for Halls.

"She did show him each and every round in that chamber, which there was six. There were six dummy rounds, she believed, to be in that handgun," he said. "She spun it and showed it on to Mr. Halls and at that time she gave custody of it."

Bowles contends that dummy rounds look like live rounds.

An attorney representing Halls said it was not Halls' responsibility to confirm whether the gun handed to Baldwin was loaded, despite Halls previously acknowledging to investigators that he should have checked all the rounds before declaring the firearm safe.

"He's not responsible for checking it," attorney Lisa Torraco said in an interview on Fox News on Monday. "That's not the assistant director's job. If he chooses to check the firearm because he wants to make sure that everyone's safe, he can do that, but that's not his responsibility."

Lawyers for Gutierrez Reed said she is devastated and heartbroken by the tragedy and cooperating with the investigation.

CNN is seeking comment from the "Rust" production company and the sheriff's department regarding the lawyers' interview.

The woman in charge of weapons on the movie set where actor Alec Baldwin fatally shot cinematographer Halyna Hutchins said Wednesday night that she had inspected the gun Baldwin shot but doesn't know how a live bullet ended up inside.

"Who put those in there and why is the central question," Hannah Gutierrez Reed, the armorer for the movie "Rust" said in a statement issued by one of her lawyers, Jason Bowles of Albuquerque, New Mexico. "Hannah kept guns locked up, including throughout lunch on the day in question (Oct. 21), and she instructed her department to watch the cart containing the guns when she was pulled away for her other duties or on a lunch break."

"Hannah did everything in her power to ensure a safe set," the statement continued. "She inspected the rounds that she loaded into the firearms that day. She always inspected the rounds."

The statement adds that she inspected the rounds before handing the firearm to assistant director David Halls "by spinning the cylinder and showing him all of the rounds and then handing him the firearm."

In speaking with NBC's Today Show on Wednesday, Gutierrez Reed's attorneys said they believed that someone may have placed a live round in a box with a "dummy" rounds label, though they did not provide evidence to support such a theory.

Halyna Hutchins, the director of photography for "Rust," was shot and killed, and director Joel Souza was injured on Oct. 21 when a gun being handled by Baldwin fired while crew members were setting up a scene.

While lawyers have floated sabotage as a possible cause of death, reports indicate that some crew members felt that work conditions on set were unsafe even before the fatal shooting.

Last month, The Associated Press reported that several crew members had raised safety concerns about the production. The outlet also said that seven crew members even walked off the set hours before the shooting.

According to The Los Angeles Times, Baldwin's stunt double had accidentally fired two live rounds on set five days before the fatal shooting after being told the gun he was holding did not contain live ammunition.

A local sheriff himself said last Wednesday that he felt there was "complacency" regarding gun safety on the set of "Rust" before the shooting. Santa Fe's district attorney added that her office would consider any safety issues on set when filing charges.

According to CNN, Halls, the film's assistant director, has faced complaints on other film sets for his disregard for safety protocols.

SANTA FE, N.M. —

New Mexico authorities said Wednesday they have recovered a lead projectile believed to have been fired from the gun used in the fatal movie-set shooting.

Investigators discussed their initial findings in the shooting in which actor Alec Baldwin fired a gun, killing a cinematographer and wounding the director.

Testing is being done to determine whether the lead projectile recovered from director Joel Souza’s shoulder was fired from the gun — a long Colt revolver — used by Baldwin. Two other guns seized include a single-action revolver that may have been modified and a plastic prop gun that was described as a revolver.

Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said it’s too early to comment on whether any charges will be filed. He also noted that 500 rounds of ammunition — a mix of blanks, dummy rounds and live rounds — were found while searching the set.

The sheriff would not comment on how the rounds got on set.

Investigators said they will also be following up on reports that there were other incidents involving misfires with guns used on the set.

District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies said investigators can’t say whether it was negligence or by whom at this point.

Both the sheriff and district attorney said they will not rush to judgment and that more investigation is needed.

The shooting has baffled Hollywood professionals and prompted calls to better regulate firearms on sets or even ban them in the age of seamless computer-generated imagery. Court records say that an assistant director grabbed the gun from a cart and indicated the weapon was safe by yelling “cold gun.”

The film’s armorer, Hannah Gutierrez Reed, said she checked dummy bullets on the day of the shooting to ensure that none were “hot” rounds. She also told a detective that while the guns used for filming were locked up during a crew lunch break, ammunition was left on a cart unsecured, according to a search warrant released Wednesday ahead of the press conference.

Gutierrez Reed told a detective that no live ammo was ever kept on the set.

Assistant director David Halls, who handed the gun to Baldwin before the shooting, said Gutierrez Reed typically opened the hatch of the gun and spun the drum, though he couldn’t recall if she did that before the shooting. He said he only remembered seeing three rounds in the gun.

After the shooting, Halls took the gun to Gutierrez and said he saw five rounds in the gun, at least four of them were “dummy” rounds indicated by a hole on the side and a cap on the round. Halls said there was also a casing in the gun that did not have the cap and did not have the hole indicating it was a dummy.

“David advised the incident was not a deliberate act,” according to the warrant.

The warrant was issued Wednesday in order to search a truck that was used on the set.

SANTA FE, N.M. —

A camera operator told authorities that Alec Baldwin had been careful with weapons on the set of the film "Rust" before the actor shot and killed a cinematographer with a gun he'd been told was safe to use, court records released Sunday show.

Cameraman Reid Russell told a detective that Baldwin was rehearsing a scene Thursday in which he was set to draw his gun while sitting in a church pew. The camera wasn't rolling when the gun went off, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, Russell told a detective according to a search warrant affidavit.

Authorities said Friday that the assistant director, Dave Halls, had handed the weapon to Baldwin and announced "cold gun," indicating it was safe to use. When asked about how Baldwin treated firearms on the set, Russell said the actor was very careful, citing an instance when Baldwin made sure a child actor was not near him when a gun was being discharged.

The affidavit released Sunday also includes statements by director Joel Souza, who was standing behind Hutchins and was also wounded.

It detailed the moments before the shooting and shows that there was turmoil on the set the day of the shooting. Several members of the camera crew walked off the production in a dispute over payment and lodging, Russell said, so a new crew had to be hired. He said he was unsure whether the weapon was checked before it was handed to Baldwin.

Souza said that he was focused on how the scene would appear on camera. He said he recalled hearing the phrase "cold gun" being used before the shooting.

He said the scene they were shooting did not call for the use of live rounds.

Souza described the gunshot as sounding like a whip and a loud pop.

On Sunday, a crew member who worked with Halls on another project said she had raised safety concerns about him in 2019.

Maggie Goll, a prop maker and licensed pyrotechnician, said in a statement that she filed an internal complaint with the executive producers of Hulu's "Into the Dark" series in 2019 over concerns about Halls' behavior on set. Goll said in a phone interview Sunday that Halls disregarded safety protocols for weapons and pyrotechnics and tried to continue filming after the supervising pyrotechnician lost consciousness on set.

Halls has not returned phone calls and email messages seeking comment.

The fatal shooting and previous experiences point to larger safety issues that need to be addressed, Goll said, adding that crew member safety and wellbeing are top issues in ongoing contract negotiations between a union that represents film and TV workers and a major producers' group.

"This situation is not about Dave Halls. ... It's in no way one person's fault," she said. "It's a bigger conversation about safety on set and what we are trying to achieve with that culture."

The film's chief electrician Serge Svetnoy blamed producers for Hutchins' death in an emotional Facebook post on Sunday. Svetnoy said he had worked with Hutchins on multiple films and faulted "negligence and unprofessionalism" among those handling weapons on the set. He said producers hired an inexperienced armorer.

Hollywood professionals say they're baffled by the circumstances and production crews have quickly stepped up safety measures.

Jeffrey Wright, who has worked on projects including the James Bond franchise and the upcoming movie "The Batman," was acting with a weapon on the set of "Westworld" when news broke of the shooting Thursday at a New Mexico ranch. "We were all pretty shocked. And it informed what we did from that moment on," he said in an interview Sunday at the Newport Beach Film Festival.

"I don't recall ever being handed a weapon that was not cleared in front of me — meaning chamber open, barrel shown to me, light flashed inside the barrel to make sure that it's cleared," Wright said. "Clearly, that was a mismanaged set."

Actor Ray Liotta agreed with Wright that the checks on firearms are usually extensive.

"They always — that I know of — they check it so you can see," Liotta said. "They give it to the person you're pointing the gun at, they do it to the producer, they show whoever is there that it doesn't work."

A vigil for Hutchins was held Sunday in Southern California, where attendees exchanged tearful hugs and speakers echoed calls for heightened safety standards.

Baldwin, who is known for his roles in "30 Rock" and "The Hunt for Red October" and his impression of former President Donald Trump on "Saturday Night Live," has described the killing as a "tragic accident."

A camera operator told authorities that Alec Baldwin had been careful with weapons on the set of the film “Rust” before the actor shot and killed a cinematographer with a gun he'd been told was safe to use, records released Sunday show.

A search warrant affidavit includes details with camera operator Reid Russell, who told a detective that Baldwin was rehearsing a scene Thursday in which he was set to draw his gun while sitting in a church pew.

The camera wasn't rolling when the gun went off, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.

The records released Sunday also include details from an interview with “Rust” director Joel Souza, who was also wounded by the shot.

Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins died Thursday after a prop firearm that actor Alec Baldwin was holding discharged on the New Mexico set of "Rust." Director Joel Souza was also hit and injured but has since been released from the hospital. While many things still aren't known — police are investigating — the AP looks at the use of firearms on film and television productions and the safety protocols in place.

WHAT IS A "PROP FIREARM"?

It's a loose definition and could apply to anything from a rubber toy to a real firearm that can fire a projectile. However, if it's used for firing (even just blanks) it's considered a real gun. Chris Burbank, a former police chief in Salt Lake City who has consulted on several TV productions, said firearms for simulations during police trainings or film productions are often made so that they can only be loaded with blanks.

WHAT ARE BLANKS AND CAN THEY KILL?

A blank is a type of gun cartridge that contains gunpowder but no bullet. Still, it can serious hurt or kill someone who is close by, according to the Actors' Equity Association. Film firearms-safety coordinator Dave Brown wrote in a 2019 piece for American Cinematographer that, "Blanks expel gunpowder and hot gases out of the front of the barrel in a cone shape. This is harmless at longer ranges, but the explosion can seriously injure someone if it's too close."

IN THIS INSTANCE, WERE BLANKS FIRED?

We don't know. The Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office is investigating what "type of projectile was discharged."

WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE WEAPONS ON SET?

Generally, a weapons master or armorer oversees all weapons that are used on a production. This can mean anything from selecting the correct items for a certain period in history, to taking care of the weapons on set and making sure they are being used safely and properly by actors and stuntpeople. It's a fairly new position in the history of film production, going back only to the 1980s. Before that, the prop master handled everything. Recently, it's become more common to enlist specialists.

WHAT ARE THE RULES FOR FIREARMS ON SET?

The weapons master is required to be on set whenever a weapon is being used. The Actors' Equity Association's guidelines state that, "Before each use, make sure the gun has been test-fired off stage and then ask to test fire it yourself. Watch the prop master check the cylinders and barrel to be sure no foreign object or dummy bullet has become lodged inside." Further, "All loading of firearms must be done by the property master, armorer or experienced persons working under their direct supervision."

Armory coordinator Sam Dormer said that, "Nowadays, all weapons are checked before your blanks are put into the weapon. ... The blanks themselves are never loaded until the very last minute when all crew is in position, so the armorer knows exactly where every member of the crew is so that no one's walking through any danger areas the armorer has set up."

HOW DOES ONE BECOME A WEAPONS MASTER?

According to Backstage magazine, there's no formal path but it is common to have internships and apprenticeships or a background in stunt work, the military, police or security. Weapons masters are required to abide by state and federal laws and hold proper operating permits.

WHY WOULD THE GUN HAVE BEEN POINTING AT THE CINEMATOGRAPHER?

We don't know what happened on the set of "Rust," but it is fairly common to have a gun pointed at the camera, and by extension the cinematographer, to get a certain angle.

"We've all seen the very famous shots in films where you get that dramatic effect of a gun being pointed at you, the audience, and of course, it's being pointed towards the camera," explained Steven Hall, a veteran second unit director and cinematographer who has worked on films like "Fury" and "Thor: The Dark World." "To minimize that, one would put a remote camera in that place, or at least if someone does have to operate the camera, I'm normally protected by safety goggles, a safety visor and often a PERSPEX screen that withstands pretty much anything. Obviously, it wouldn't withstand a real shot from a gun, but it would certainly withstand a blank."

GIVEN THE MANY REGULATIONS, HOW COULD SOMETHING LIKE THIS HAPPEN?

While the specific circumstances of the "Rust" shooting are still unknown, professionals in the business say that sometimes the crew and production are encouraged to "speed things up" for any number of reasons which can sometimes lead to "relaxed" safety protocols.

DOES IT MAKE IT MORE COMPLICATED WHEN IT'S A PERIOD PIECE?

"Rust" is set in the 1880s and according to Hall, when period weapons are used "you have to use actual historic period weapons and to check the safety of those weapons. I have known live rounds to be fired out of revolvers, certainly, to make sure that they do function in a way that when you put a blank in, it isn't going to blow up or explode in the actor's hands."

WHY DO PRODUCTIONS EVEN USE REAL GUNFIRE WHEN SPECIAL EFFECTS ARE AVAILABLE?

It is becoming more common to add in gunfire in post-production when working on the visual effects. But visual effects can be expensive and it can be easier, and cheaper, to use props. Also, Dormer says that there can be advantages to using props and blanks, like getting an authentic reaction from an actor.

HOW IS HOLLYWOOD RESPONDING?

There has been an outpouring of dismay and anger from all levels of the industry that something like this could have happened. Director James Gunn tweeted that his greatest fear is that "someone will be fatally hurt on one of my sets." Alex Winter tweeted that, "Crew should never be unsafe on set and when they are there is always a clearly definable reason why."

AP reporters Lizzie Knight and Adam Egan contributed from London and Lindsay Whitehurst from Salt Lake City.

SANTA FE, N.M. —

Actor Alec Baldwin fired a prop gun on a movie set and killed the cinematographer, authorities said. The director of the Western being filmed was also wounded, and authorities are investigating what happened.

Halyna Hutchins, cinematographer on the movie “Rust,” and director Joel Souza were shot Thursday on the rustic film set in the desert on the southern outskirts of Santa Fe, Santa Fe County Sheriff’s officials said.

A spokesperson for Baldwin said there was an accident on the set involving the misfire of a prop gun with blanks, though a charge without a metal projectile is unlikely to kill at a moderate distance. Sheriff’s spokesman Juan Rios said detectives were investigating how and what type of projectile was discharged.

Santa Fe County deputies say they responded to Bonanza Creek Ranch where the movie was being filmed after receiving a 911 call saying someone had been shot.

Hutchins, 42, died from her injuries, according to the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office.

Souza, 48, was taken to a hospital for his injuries.

Deputies are investigating how and what type of projectile was discharged from the prop gun. No charges have been filed.

The Santa Fe New Mexican reported Baldwin was seen Thursday outside the sheriff’s office in tears, but attempts to get comment from him were unsuccessful.

Filming for “Rust” was set to continue into early November, according to a news release from the New Mexico Film Office.

The movie is about a 13-year-old boy who is left to fend for himself and his younger brother following the death of their parents in 1880s' Kansas, according to the Internet Movie Database website. The teen goes on the run with his long-estranged grandfather (played by Baldwin) after the boy is sentenced to hang for the accidental killing of a local rancher.

The film also stars Jensen Ackles and Travis Fimmel.

In 2016, a man stabbed his co-worker at this same filming location.

That incident happened in April of 2016 when the victim said he was arguing with Jame Ruelas.

He said Ruelas called him to an empty room and attacked him with a carving knife.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

911 calls are shedding light on the moments after the shooting on the film set of "Rust" Thursday that killed the directory of photography. You can listen to the 911 call in the video above. In the tapes, a script supervisor is heard asking for help immediately. The supervisor is heard saying they were rehearsing when she heard the gun go off. She mentions seeing someone doubled over. She goes on to identify those shot as the film’s director and a camerawoman. We now know she was referring Joel Souza, "Rust" director, and Halyna Hutchinson, director of photography.Actor Alec Baldwin discharged the prop gun that fatally wounded Hutchinson and injured Souza. The 911 dispatcher asks the caller if the gun was loaded with real bullets, but the script supervisor says she didn't know.