There’s no shortage of heartbreak, outrage, and theories surrounding the horrific shooting that took place October 21 on the set of Alec Baldwin’s upcoming western Rust. Since that fateful day and the passing of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, the studio behind Rust has come under fire for improper gun safety protocols on set, with both the film’s assistant director, David Halls, and armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed admitting to some negligence and a veteran prop master stating he actually passed on working on the film due to “massive red flags.” However, in light of these various claims and the conspiracy theories that have subsequently appeared, Santa Fe district attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies took to Good Morning America to remind people it is vital to separate negligence from “sabotage,” Deadline reports.
“I know that some defense attorneys have come up with conspiracy theories and have used the word ‘sabotage.’ We do not have any proof .. 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,” she said. “It’s more, how did that gun get loaded? What levels of failure happened, and were those levels of failure criminal?”
When questioned directly on whether or not she believed there could be an element of sabotage to the incident, Carmack-Altwies told reporters “no,” and added that until she is given additional information, these speculations don’t “play into the decision-making process.” Instead of humoring theories, Carmack-Altwies said it’s more important to point out the concerning “levels of failure” on the set of Rust. While the attorney declined to state how many live rounds were tucked away on the film’s set, Carmack-Altwies implied there were many and that solving the question of how they came to be is the case’s most pressing issue.
Carmack-Altwies also declined to answer who reportedly loaded the gun, but confirmed they now know who did. While the attorney for David Halls denied the assistant director handed the gun to Baldwin during the scene rehearsal, but armorer Gutierrez-Reed said it “does seem to be the case” that he did.
