SANTA FE, N.M. -- Before Alec Baldwin fatally shot a cinematographer on a New Mexico film set, there were reports of some problems on the set. Seven crew members walked off several hours before the victim was killed to express their discontent with matters that ranged from safety conditions to their accommodations, according to one of the crew members who left.
A crew member had assured the actor was safe, a tragic mistake that came hours after some workers walked off the job to protest conditions and production issues.
An assistant director, Dave Halls, grabbed a prop gun off a cart at a desert movie ranch and handed it to Baldwin during a Thursday rehearsal for the Western film "Rust," according to court records made public Friday.
"Cold gun," Halls yelled, declaring the weapon didn't carry live rounds and was ready to fire.
But it wasn't. When Baldwin pulled the trigger, he unwittingly killed 42-year-old cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounded director Joel Souza, who was standing behind her inside a wooden, chapel-like building.
A 911 call that alerted authorities to the shooting at the Bonanza Creek Ranch outside Santa Fe hints at the panic on the movie set, as detailed in a recording released by the Santa Fe County Regional Emergency Communications Center.
"We had two people accidentally shot on a move set by a prop gun, we need help immediately," script supervisor Mamie Mitchell told an emergency dispatcher. "We were rehearsing and it went off, and I ran out. We all ran out."
The dispatcher asked if the gun was loaded with a real bullet.
"I cannot tell you. We have two injuries," Mitchell replied. "And this [expletive] AD [assistant director] that yelled at me at lunch, asking about revisions, ... he's supposed to check the guns. He's responsible for what happens on the set."
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Halls did not immediately return phone and email messages seeking comment. The Associated Press was unable to contact Hannah Gutierrez, the film's armorer, and several messages sent to production companies affiliated with "Rust" did not receive responses Friday.
The gun Baldwin used was one of three that Gutierrez had set on a cart outside the building where a scene was being rehearsed, according to the court records. Halls grabbed the firearm from the cart and brought it inside to the actor, unaware that it was loaded with live rounds, a detective wrote in a search warrant application.
It was unclear how many rounds were fired. Gutierrez removed a shell casing from the gun after the shooting and turned the weapon over to police when they arrived, the court records say.
Guns used in making movies are sometimes real weapons that can fire either bullets or blanks, which are gunpowder charges that produce a flash and a bang but no dangerous projectile.
New Mexico workplace safety investigators are examining if film industry standards for gun safety were followed during production of "Rust." The Los Angeles Times, citing two crew members it did not name, reported that five days before the shooting, Baldwin's stunt double accidentally fired two live rounds after being told the gun didn't have any ammunition.
A crew member who was alarmed by the misfires told a unit production manager in a text message, "We've now had 3 accidental discharges. This is super unsafe," according to a copy of the message reviewed by the newspaper.
Santa Fe-area District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies said prosecutors are reviewing evidence in the shooting and do not know if charges will be filed.
Baldwin, 63, has described the killing as a "tragic accident." He was a producer of "Rust."
Production on "Rust" was halted after the shooting.
The disputes began soon after filming began in early October, said the crew member, who requested anonymity because he feared speaking up would hurt his prospects for future jobs.
Only minimal covid-19 precautions were taken even though crew and cast members often worked in small enclosed spaces on the ranch, the crew member said. He said he never witnessed any formal orientation about weapons used on set, which normally would take place before filming begins.
A combination of those concerns prompted the seven to walk off the job.
Information for this article was contributed by Jake Coyle, Jocelyn Noveck, Lizzie Knight, Yuras Karmanau, Ryan Pearson, Susan Montoya Bryan, Walter Berry and Gene Johnson of The Associated Press.