The Santa Fe District Attorney in charge of the inquiry into Halyna Hutchins' tragic shooting on the set of the upcoming western flick "Rust" has stated that she knows who loaded the gun, although there is no proof of any deliberate sabotage on production.
In a Wednesday interview with Good Morning America, DA Mary Carmack-Altwies claimed that there were "so many levels of failures" on the set.
Authorities are investigating how a suspected live round ended up in a pistol that had previously been pronounced safe by an assistant director. Carmack-Altwies stated she knew who loaded the fatal shot into the gun.
Investigators discovered other live rounds on set, according to the district attorney, but she could not say how many because the investigation was still underway.
"We still don't know how they 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. "It's probably more important to focus on what led up to the shooting because the moment of the shooting, we know that at least Mr. Baldwin had no idea that the gun was loaded, so it's more how did that gun get loaded, what levels of failure happened and were those levels of failure criminal?"
Moreover, Carmack-Altwies rejected statements made by the movie armorer's attorney, who said the weapon may have been loaded with live ammunition on purpose.
"Defense attorneys have come up with conspiracy theories and used the word 'sabotage.' We do not have proof," Carmack-Altwies said.
When actor Alec Baldwin pointed the pistol at Hutchins, 42, and shot while rehearsing a scene, he was assured it was a "cold gun," meaning it had blanks. The armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, was responsible for providing the gun, and assistant director David Halls was supposed to check it before assuring the 63-year-old actor of its safety.
Gutierrez-Reed's lawyer earlier claimed that the tragedy could have been caused by sabotage by a third party who purposefully placed live ammo in a package of blanks.
Since October 21, the day of the incident, the set has been closed off as officials continue with the investigation. Baldwin has stated that the low-budget film will most likely never be completed.
Last week, the actor, who was also listed as the movie's producer, shared a post from a Rust crew member dismissing worries about safety on set.
According to a Los Angeles Times report, Gutierrez-Reed, 24, was recommended for the position of set armorer by Seth Kenney, a 51-year-old prop expert who has worked in the film industry for at least a decade.
Kenney, who ran the PDQ Media Arm & Prop rental company in Lake Havasu City, Arizona, reportedly supplied the firearms used on stage, including the FD Pietta Colt.45 (a clone of the iconic Colt Model 1873 Revolver) that killed Hutchins.