Authorities investigating the movie set where Alec Baldwin accidentally shot and killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins last Thursday have recovered 500 rounds of ammunition made up of a mix of blanks, dummies and suspected live rounds.
In its first official briefing since the incident, the Santa Fe County sheriff's office said there was “some complacency” in how weapons were handled on the set of Rust.
“Obviously I think the industry has had a record recently of being safe. 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,” Sheriff Adan Mendoza told a news conference on Wednesday.
While it has been determined that it was Baldwin who fired the suspected lead projectile that killed Hutchins, according to the sheriff, questions still remain on whether the projectile was a live round and, if so, why it was there on set.
Here are all the things we still don't know about the Rust shooting incident:
Did Alec Baldwin pull the trigger or did the gun just go off?
It’s still unclear whether Baldwin deliberately pulled the trigger or if the gun went off inadvertently. And if he did pull the trigger, who loaded the gun?
Entertainment trade website The Wrap reported that crew members had been using the weapons only hours before Hutchins was killed.
Dave Halls, the film's assistant director, handed the gun to Baldwin, telling him it was "cold" or safe. Baldwin, dressed in period garb as he played a wounded character named Harlan Rust, sat in a pew, working out how he would draw a Pietta Long Colt revolver across his body and aim it towards the movie camera.
The camera wasn’t rolling yet, but director Joel Souza peered over the shoulder of Hutchins to see what the camera saw. He then heard what sounded like a whip followed by a loud pop, he later told investigators.
Suddenly Hutchins was complaining about her stomach, grabbing her midsection and stumbling backwards, saying she couldn’t feel her legs. Souza saw that she was bloodied, and that he was bleeding, too. The lead from Baldwin’s gun had pierced Hutchins and reportedly embedded in his shoulder.
A medic began trying to save Hutchins as people streamed out of the building and called 911. Lighting specialist Serge Svetnoy said he held her as she was dying, her blood on his hands.
In the commotion after the shooting, Halls found the weapon – a black revolver manufactured by an Italian company that specialises in 19th century reproductions – on a church pew.
He brought it to armourer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed and told her to open it so he could see what was inside. There were at least four dummy bullet casings, with the small hole in the side, he told detectives.
There was one empty casing. It had no hole.
Sheriff Mendoza told reporters more questions were being asked of the people who inspected or handled the firearm before it got to Baldwin.
"We're going to try to determine exactly how that happened and if they should have known that there was a live round in that firearm."
Were there live rounds on set?
The FBI is helping out with ballistics analysis to determine whether or not the lead projectile that killed Hutchins was a live round.
Testing is being done to confirm whether the projectile taken from director Souza’s shoulder was fired from the same revolver used by Baldwin. Souza told investigators there should never be live rounds present near the scene.
Two other guns were seized, including a single-action revolver that may have been modified and a plastic gun that was described as a revolver, officials said.
“We suspect that there were other live rounds, but that’s up to the testing. But right now, we’re going to determine how those got there; why they were there because they shouldn’t have been,” Mendoza said.
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 on Wednesday ahead of the news conference.
Gutierrez-Reed told a detective that no live ammunition was ever kept on set.
Halls 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, according to the search warrant.
Will there be criminal charges?
Santa Fe district attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies said on Wednesday they were not ruling out the possibility of filing criminal charges.
"All options are on the table ... No one has been ruled out at this point," she said at the press conference.
She also said that reports about assistant director Halls being fired from a previous production because of a gun safety violation might affect any eventual decision to prosecute.
"It obviously could play into whether charges get filed or not," she said.
Asked whether Baldwin – who also served as a producer on the movie – could face criminal charges, she said it was not out of the question.
Experts said criminal charges are possible, though probably not against Baldwin.
"For a criminal case, you're going to need some sort of actual intent, or criminal negligence, gross negligence. That's ... something more than pointing the gun," former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani told news agency Reuters.
The criminal investigation is likely to focus instead on how the gun came to be loaded. "I think having live ballistic rounds on a movie set is inexcusable and rises to the level of gross negligence that you see in a criminal charge," lawyer Jeff Harris of Harris Lowry Manton told Reuters.
What about lawsuits?
The payouts arising from the legal fallout – which could be covered in part by insurance held by the film's production company – would probably be in the “millions and millions” of dollars, Adam Winkler, a professor at the UCLA School of Law and a gun policy expert, told news agency AP.
“There was clearly negligence on the set. The producers had a duty to preserve the safety of the crew. There were obvious hazards on the set."
Legal consultant Bryan Sullivan told news agency AFP: "I anticipate that everybody's going to be sued."
Baldwin is likely to be named in any lawsuit because of his deep pockets, and because his fame would help to draw media coverage, according to Sullivan.
"A plaintiff's lawyer would definitely want to name Alec Baldwin to get the money in there," Sullivan said.
The film's production company, Rust Movie Productions, has hired the law firm Jenner & Block to investigate the shooting. In a letter sent to cast and crew on Tuesday, the film's production team said Jenner & Block "will have full discretion about who to interview and any conclusions they draw".
– Additional reporting by AP, AFP and Reuters
The five pillars of Islam
2018 ICC World Twenty20 Asian Western Sub Regional Qualifier
Event info: The tournament in Kuwait this month is the first phase of the qualifying process for sides from Asia for the 2020 World T20 in Australia. The UAE must finish within the top three teams out of the six at the competition to advance to the Asia regional finals. Success at regional finals would mean progression to the World T20 Qualifier.
UAE’s fixtures: Fri Apr 20, UAE v Qatar; Sat Apr 21, UAE v Saudi Arabia; Mon Apr 23, UAE v Bahrain; Tue Apr 24, UAE v Maldives; Thu Apr 26, UAE v Kuwait
World T20 2020 Qualifying process:
- Sixteen teams will play at the World T20 in two years’ time.
- Australia have already qualified as hosts
- Nine places are available to the top nine ranked sides in the ICC’s T20i standings, not including Australia, on Dec 31, 2018.
- The final six teams will be decided by a 14-team World T20 Qualifier.
World T20 standings: 1 Pakistan; 2 Australia; 3 India; 4 New Zealand; 5 England; 6 South Africa; 7 West Indies; 8 Sri Lanka; 9 Afghanistan; 10 Bangladesh; 11 Scotland; 12 Zimbabwe; 13 UAE; 14 Netherlands; 15 Hong Kong; 16 Papua New Guinea; 17 Oman; 18 Ireland
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
How does ToTok work?
The calling app is available to download on Google Play and Apple App Store
To successfully install ToTok, users are asked to enter their phone number and then create a nickname.
The app then gives users the option add their existing phone contacts, allowing them to immediately contact people also using the application by video or voice call or via message.
Users can also invite other contacts to download ToTok to allow them to make contact through the app.
How to turn your property into a holiday home
- Ensure decoration and styling – and portal photography – quality is high to achieve maximum rates.
- Research equivalent Airbnb homes in your location to ensure competitiveness.
- Post on all relevant platforms to reach the widest audience; whether you let personally or via an agency know your potential guest profile – aiming for the wrong demographic may leave your property empty.
- Factor in costs when working out if holiday letting is beneficial. The annual DCTM fee runs from Dh370 for a one-bedroom flat to Dh1,200. Tourism tax is Dh10-15 per bedroom, per night.
- Check your management company has a physical office, a valid DTCM licence and is licencing your property and paying tourism taxes. For transparency, regularly view your booking calendar.
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
10 tips for entry-level job seekers
- Have an up-to-date, professional LinkedIn profile. If you don’t have a LinkedIn account, set one up today. Avoid poor-quality profile pictures with distracting backgrounds. Include a professional summary and begin to grow your network.
- Keep track of the job trends in your sector through the news. Apply for job alerts at your dream organisations and the types of jobs you want – LinkedIn uses AI to share similar relevant jobs based on your selections.
- Double check that you’ve highlighted relevant skills on your resume and LinkedIn profile.
- For most entry-level jobs, your resume will first be filtered by an applicant tracking system for keywords. Look closely at the description of the job you are applying for and mirror the language as much as possible (while being honest and accurate about your skills and experience).
- Keep your CV professional and in a simple format – make sure you tailor your cover letter and application to the company and role.
- Go online and look for details on job specifications for your target position. Make a list of skills required and set yourself some learning goals to tick off all the necessary skills one by one.
- Don’t be afraid to reach outside your immediate friends and family to other acquaintances and let them know you are looking for new opportunities.
- Make sure you’ve set your LinkedIn profile to signal that you are “open to opportunities”. Also be sure to use LinkedIn to search for people who are still actively hiring by searching for those that have the headline “I’m hiring” or “We’re hiring” in their profile.
- Prepare for online interviews using mock interview tools. Even before landing interviews, it can be useful to start practising.
- Be professional and patient. Always be professional with whoever you are interacting with throughout your search process, this will be remembered. You need to be patient, dedicated and not give up on your search. Candidates need to make sure they are following up appropriately for roles they have applied.
Arda Atalay, head of Mena private sector at LinkedIn Talent Solutions, Rudy Bier, managing partner of Kinetic Business Solutions and Ben Kinerman Daltrey, co-founder of KinFitz
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
MATCH INFO
Who: France v Italy
When: Friday, 11pm (UAE)
TV: BeIN Sports
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Top Hundred overseas picks
London Spirit: Kieron Pollard, Riley Meredith
Welsh Fire: Adam Zampa, David Miller, Naseem Shah
Manchester Originals: Andre Russell, Wanindu Hasaranga, Sean Abbott
Northern Superchargers: Dwayne Bravo, Wahab Riaz
Oval Invincibles: Sunil Narine, Rilee Rossouw
Trent Rockets: Colin Munro
Birmingham Phoenix: Matthew Wade, Kane Richardson
Southern Brave: Quinton de Kock
War 2
Director: Ayan Mukerji
Stars: Hrithik Roshan, NTR, Kiara Advani, Ashutosh Rana
Rating: 2/5
