(Los Angeles) Actor Alec Baldwin was practicing drawing his gun and pointing it at the camera when the fatal shot was fired at a cinematographer during a shoot in the United States, according to reports. court documents cited Monday by US media.
The director Joel Souza, injured in the shoulder by the shooting, stood behind the victim Halyna Hutchins. He said he heard what sounded like “the sound of a whip, and a big ‘bang’,” according to a preliminary investigation report obtained by NBC.
“Alec (Baldwin) was sitting on a bench in a church setting, and he was practicing drawing,” according to the document. The director was looking at him over Halyna Hutchins’ shoulder.
After the shot, the filmmaker “grabbed the abdomen,” said the director, adding that she “began to stumble back” and was “helped to get down”.
Cameraman Reid Russell clarified that the scene was not filmed as the crew were preparing to shoot.
The film crew Rust, filmed in the state of New Mexico, was returning from a dinner break, and Joel Souza said “not sure” the gun had undergone another security check.
Halyna Hutchins, 42, was shot in the chest on Thursday after Alec Baldwin actuated a weapon used as a prop, an accident as rare as it was tragic that deeply shocked the world of cinema. She was pronounced dead a few hours later.
A police investigation is underway, and Alec Baldwin has been heard. No arrests have yet been made.
Sunday, a vigil in tribute to Halyna Hutchins was organized in Burbank, near Los Angeles. The mood was loaded with bitterness and sadness, with attendees eager to know how such a tragedy had been possible.
A petition on the change.org site, calling for a ban on live firearms on filming and better working conditions for crews, had collected more than 24,000 signatures on Monday.