Rust: US Police to search arms supplier over fatal film shooting

The fatal shooting of Halyna Hutchins happened on the New Mexico set of the Western film Rust

Police investigating the fatal shooting on the set of the Alec Baldwin movie Rust have obtained a further warrant to search the premises of an arms supplier in the US.

Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins died and director Joel Souza was injured in October, when Baldwin was practicing drawing a prop gun.

An affidavit with the warrant said police were told ammunition for the film had come from several sources, including PDQ Arm & Prop.

The affidavit said the ammunition supplier's owner, Seth Kenney, had told investigators the live round may have been from some "reloaded ammunition".

He said the ammunition he supplied for the film consisted of dummy rounds and blanks, according to the affidavit.

A lawsuit against Mr Baldwin, who was the film's star and producer, alleges that the script did not require him to fire a gun at the time when Ms Hutchins was fatally wounded.

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The Hollywood star, who thought the prop gun was "cold", or safe for use, previously shared comments from a crew member rejecting suggestions the set of his Western was unsafe.

Fourth search warrant

The fourth search warrant issued, which was published by Deadline, was approved by a New Mexico judge on Tuesday and included a statement from Rust armourer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed's father, Thell Reed.

According to the affidavit, Mr Reed, a veteran armourer and stunt-man himself, told Santa Fe police he delivered an "ammo can" with 200 to 300 live rounds to Mr Kenney to help train actors on another production they were working on in August or September.

He reportedly said Mr Kenney had "requested he bring live ammunition in the event they ran out of what was supplied".

The affidavit stated that after that production ended, Mr Reed said Mr Kenney took the ammo can and remaining live bullets back to his company's New Mexico office.

Mr Reed also allegedly told police that the ammo can still contained 45 calibre colt bullets. When he later inquired about the bullets, Mr Kenney allegedly dismissed him, asking him to "write it off", the affidavit stated.

"Thell [Reed] stated this ammunition may match the ammunition found on the set of Rust," the statement read.

The document also stated that either Gutierrez-Reed or Rust prop master Sarah Zachry picked up the dummy rounds from Kenney's PDQ Arm & Prop. Ms Zachry told police the ammunition was procured from multiple sources, including Mr Kenney.

She added that she checked the box of ammunition after the fatal shooting, and found that some cartridges would rattle [which signified they were dummy rounds] while others did not, suggesting to her that there were more live rounds in the box.

The actor and producer has described the shooting as a "one-in-a-trillion event"

Mr Baldwin, meanwhile, has reportedly given his first formal interview since the incident to ABC News.

In an initial statement given after the shooting, Mr Baldwin said he had "no words to convey" his "shock and sadness" over Ms Hutchins' death.

"My heart is broken for her husband, their son, and all who knew and loved Halyna."

The BBC has contacted Mr Kenney for comment.

In a statement to ABC News, his lawyer said: "Mr Kenney is fully-cooperating with the authorities, as he has been since the tragic incident took place.

"Neither Mr Kenney nor PDQ Arm & Prop, LLC provided live ammunition to the Rust production."

The statement also said that the warrant affidavit "includes material mis-statements of fact, particularly with regard to statements ascribed to Mr Kenney".