DA dismisses theory that ‘Rust’ shooting was result of sabotage, believes more live rounds were on movie’s set

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The district attorney reviewing the fatal “Rust” shooting case doesn’t believe the movie’s New Mexico set was sabotaged, describing those ideas as “conspiracy theories.”

Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza, left, looks on as First Judicial District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies for the state of New Mexico speaks during a press conference at the Santa Fe County Public Safety Building to update members of the media on the shooting accident on the set of the movie "Rust" at the on Oct. 27, 2021 in Santa Fe, New Mexico.© Sam Wasson/Getty Images North America/TNS Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza, left, looks on as First Judicial District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies for the state of New Mexico speaks during a press conference at the Santa Fe County Public Safety Building to update members of the media on the shooting accident on the set of the movie "Rust" at the on Oct. 27, 2021 in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Mary Carmack-Altwies, the district attorney for Santa Fe County, told ABC News that it’s her understanding there were more live rounds on the film set, in addition to the one that struck and killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins last month.


She doesn’t believe, however, that a live round was intentionally put inside a box of dummies by someone hoping to “sabotage” the set, dismissing a theory recently suggested by an attorney for the film’s armorer, Hannah Gutierrez Reed.

“We do not have any proof,” Mary Carmack-Altwies said in an interview that aired Wednesday on ABC’s “Good Morning America.”

Hutchins died after she was hit by a bullet from a prop gun that was being handled by “Rust” star Alec Baldwin. Director Joel Souza was also wounded in the incident.

“The moment of the shooting, we know that at least Mr. Baldwin had no idea that the gun was loaded,” Carmack-Altwies told ABC. “So it’s more, ‘How did that gun get loaded, what levels of failure happened, and were those levels of failure criminal?’”

Carmack-Altwies said she has an understanding of how many live rounds were on the movie’s set at the Bonanza Creek Ranch in Santa Fe that day, but can’t release that information.

She also said she knows who loaded the gun, but wouldn’t identify the person during the new interview.

Carmack-Altwies said it “does seem to be the case” that assistant director Dave Halls was the person who handed the gun to Baldwin before the shot was fired.

The district attorney is prepared to file charges “if the circumstances warrant it,” she told ABC.

“We still don’t know how (live rounds) got on the set, and how they got there, I think, will be one of the most important factors going into a charging decision,” Carmack-Altwies said.

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