‘I heard this shot’: ‘Rust’ armorer recounts the moment of Alec Baldwin’s fatal blast

Six months after actor and producer Alec Baldwin fatally shot cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the New Mexico set of the western “Rust,” the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office released hundreds of documents and dozens of videos from its investigation.

Dash-cam footage from deputies and detectives arriving at the Bonanza Creek Ranch movie set minutes after the shooting, set videos, crime-scene photos, lengthy witness interviews and a 204-page case report summarizing the investigation were included in the trove of evidence. Deputies’ lapel cameras captured footage from the scene, depicting Baldwin and others struggling to make sense of what they had just witnessed.

The records and videos, released earlier this week, shed more light on the roles of Baldwin, the film’s assistant director and safety officer Dave Halls, and Hannah Gutierrez Reed, who was working on just her second project as head armorer.

No charges have been filed so far in the case, though local authorities have been scrutinizing the actions of the three individuals who had handled the gun: Baldwin, Halls and Gutierrez Reed.

The sheriff’s office’s investigation into the shooting, which also wounded director Joel Souza, remains open. Sheriff Adan Mendoza said Monday that his office is waiting for the completion of an FBI analysis and data from Baldwin’s cellphone before wrapping up its investigation. New Mexico’s First Judicial District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies will decide whether criminal charges are filed.

As armorer, Gutierrez Reed, who was 24 at the time of the accident, was responsible for the guns, ammunition and gun safety. The videos released depict a young woman, at first, struggling to grasp the enormity of the incident and her potential liability. A later video shows Gutierrez Reed cooperating with sheriff’s office investigators in a lengthy interview nearly three weeks after the shooting.