‘Rust’ shooting: Police recover lead projectile from director’s shoulder

A lead
projectile, fired by actor Alec Baldwin during shooting of the wester film ‘Rust’,
has been recovered from the shoulder of the injured director Joe Souza, police
said on Wednesday. “We regard this specific spent casing and recovered
projectile to be the live round that was fired from the revolver by Mr Baldwin,”
police said in a briefing, BBC reported.  

In a press
conference, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza also said that the gun was
handled by three people, including two crew members – the film’s assistant
director and armorer – before it was handed over to Baldwin.

Police have
also recovered over 600 pieces of evidence, including three firearms and around
500 rounds of ammunition. A spent shell casing has also been recovered from the
scene.

Police also
suspect there were more live rounds on the sets of the film. The ammunition
found on set was “a mix of blanks, dummy rounds and what we are suspecting is
live rounds”, Mendoza said, adding the bullets are yet to be tested in a crime
lab.

However,
Mendoza said that “some facts are clear”.

“I think
the facts are clear – a weapon was handed to Mr Baldwin. The weapon is
functional and fired a live round killing Ms Hutchins and injuring Mr Souza. Right
now we’re gonna determine how those got there, why they were there – because
they shouldn’t have been there,” he said.

Meanwhile, the
district attorney said that “all options are on the table at this point”
regarding the investigation. She said that much of the investigation remains to
be conducted, and that “if the facts and evidence and law support charges, then
I will initiate prosecution at that time”.

Nobody has been
arrested or charged over the shooting.

Producers of
the film have hired lawyers to investigate the incident. The law firm Jenner
& Block confirmed to BBC that it will represent the producers.