Prosecutor won’t rule out criminal charges in Alec Baldwin movie shooting

SANTA FE, New Mexico -- Criminal charges have not been ruled out in the fatal shooting on set of the Alec Baldwin movie “Rust,” the Santa Fe County district attorney told the New York Times on Tuesday afternoon.

The district attorney said the investigation was focusing on ballistics in an effort to determine what kind of round was in the gun that killed the film's cinematographer — and who had placed the ammunition in the gun.

The DA's Office scheduled a news conference for 10 a.m. Wednesday to discuss the investigation.

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Meantime, experts predict a tremendous civil legal fallout after Baldwin pulled the trigger on a prop gun while filming in New Mexico and unwittingly killed a cinematographer and injured a director.

In addition to Baldwin, a call sheet for the day of the shooting obtained by The Associated Press lists five producers, four executive producers, a line producer and a co-producer.

They, assistant director Dave Halls and an armorer could all face some sort of civil liability even if they weren't on the set. The payouts might be in the “millions and millions” of dollars.

Here, based on a search warrant affidavit and 911 calls, is a moment-by-moment account of what happened that day.

A sudden shot rang out on set

The crew was filming last Thursday at Bonanza Creek Ranch, a Western movie set outside Santa Fe. In the film Baldwin plays a grizzled outlaw on the run from authorities with his 13-year-old grandson.

Mornings typically started with breakfast at 6:30 a.m., but that day they were behind schedule. A six-person camera crew had recently walked off the job, complaining about pay and housing, and a new crew had been brought in.

But even with the delay, things appeared to be going smoothly, director Joel Souza told Santa Fe County Sheriff's deputies in the affidavit. Baldwin and crew members began rehearsing a scene in the rustic church, broke for lunch, and then returned to the set.

Baldwin, dressed in Old West clothes, was huddled with Souza, cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and a few others inside the simple wooden structure. One camera was set up, but because they were just rehearsing, nothing was being filmed or recorded.

Assistant director Dave Halls fetched a prop gun from a cart outside the church and yelled "cold gun!," indicating it was unloaded. He then handed it to Baldwin, who sat in a church pew facing the camera and crew.

Baldwin was demonstrating a "cross draw" -- pulling a gun from a holster on the opposite side of his body from his draw hand. The scene required him to point the gun toward the camera.

It was about 1:50 p.m. Souza told deputies he was viewing the scene through the camera and nearby monitors when he heard "what sounded like a whip and then a loud pop."

Hutchins stumbled backward and slumped to the floor, clutching her stomach and saying she couldn't feel her legs. Souza, who had been standing beside her, noticed blood on his shoulder.

Suddenly, there was chaos.

A script supervisor called 911

Crew members scattered. A medic tried to stop Hutchins' bleeding while others frantically dialed 911.

In a 911 call, a woman who described herself as the film's script supervisor told the dispatcher what had happened.

"Two people have been accidentally shot on a movie set by a prop gun. We need help immediately," the woman said, according to a transcript of the call obtained by CNN affiliate KOAT.

"A director and a camerawoman have been shot."

The 911 operator asked if the prop gun was loaded with a real bullet.

"I cannot tell you that," the woman said. "We have two injuries from a movie, gunshot ... I was sitting, we were rehearsing and it went off, and I ran out. We all ran out. They were doubled over ... the camerawoman and the director."

'The caller then began cursing at an unidentified person about gun safety on the set.

Then came another 911 call, this one from an unidentified man on the set. The dispatcher told him an ambulance was on the way. She also offered to give instructions on how to stop the victims' bleeding.

The caller told the dispatcher that a medic on set was helping treat those who were shot. A cacophony of voices could be heard in the background.

Investigators seized Baldwin's clothes

Sheriff's deputies arrived shortly afterward.

Hutchins, 42, was airlifted to a hospital some 55 miles away in Albuquerque, where she was pronounced dead. Souza, 48, suffered a gunshot wound to his right shoulder and is recovering.

A distraught Baldwin changed into his street clothes and gave his blood-stained Western outfit to authorities. He also gave the prop gun to the armorer -- the person who oversees firearms on movie sets -- who took the spent casing out and handed it to detectives.

Investigators also found two other prop guns, a Western-style gun belt and some ammunition.

It remains unclear what was in the gun that Baldwin fired. Detectives learned the armorer, Hannah Gutierrez, had laid three prop guns on the cart before Halls, the assistant director, grabbed one and handed it to Baldwin. Souza, the film's director, told investigators he believed the gun was unloaded and safe.

In the affidavit, detectives sought a search warrant to seize more items as evidence, including firearms and ammunition, cameras, memory cards and computers.

The film industry is mourning Hutchins, who was seen as a rising talent in Hollywood. Baldwin has said he's heartbroken.

The Bonanza Creek Ranch, which has been used for dozens of Western-themed movies and TV series, including "Lonesome Dove" and "Cowboys and Aliens," now sits deserted. The production team said it's halted filming on "Rust," at least until the investigation into the shooting is complete.

Five days later, there are still more questions than answers.