Authorities confirmed Wednesday there were what appeared to be “live rounds” on the set of Alec Baldwin’s deadly “Rust” film mixed in with other rounds of ammunition.
Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said authorities found roughly 500 rounds of ammunition on the set such as a “mix of blanks, dummy rounds and what we are suspecting, live rounds.” It is unclear how the suspected live rounds ended up on set, Mendoza said the investigation will work to determine that.
Mendoza said authorities also uncovered three firearms, including the revolver believed to have been fired by Baldwin during Thursday’s deadly incident. Authorities also believe they have the shell casing of the bullet that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and struck director Joel Souza.
“I think there was some complacency on this set, and I think there are some safety issues that need to be addressed by the industry and possibly by the state of New Mexico, but I’ll leave that up to the industry and the state as to what those need to be,” Mendoza said.
Mendoza said it was “too early” to comment on charges” with District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies saying “all options are on the table” when asked whether Baldwin himself could face charges. (RELATED: Hilaria Baldwin Speaks Out For The First Time Since Alec Baldwin Killed Woman On Set With Prop Gun)
“No one has been ruled out at this point,” she added.
Prior to the deadly incident there had reportedly been several prior accidental discharges, with one camera operator complaining about gun safety issues on set to a production manager, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Three additional crew members who worked on the Bonzana Creek Ranch set said prior to the shooting they were concerned about accidental discharges after Baldwin’s stunt double accidentally fired off two rounds while under the impression the gun was not loaded, according to the report.
Baldwin was told the firearm was “cold” prior to firing, meaning it was supposed to have no live rounds, CNN reported. Baldwin had been rehearsing a scene in which he was pointing the revolver “towards the camera lens” in a “cross drawing” maneuver. Hutchins and Souza were both behind the camera at the time, according to The New York Times.