The Santa Fe District Attorney investigating the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of Alec Baldwin's Western movie Rust said neither the actor nor anyone else who was on set is clear of potential criminal charges until the probe concludes. 
DA Mary Carmack-Altwies appeared to be responding to Baldwin's claim during his 90-minute interview with ABC this week that he was unlikely to face any charges and that he supposedly never pulled the trigger on the gun that went off in his hands, killing Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza. 
In a statement released on Friday, Carmack-Altwies maintained that 'certain individuals may be criminally culpable for his/her actions and/or inactions on the set of Rust.'
She also vowed to use her 'prosecutorial discretion to its fullest, including filing charges that are supported by probable cause.' 
'Everyone involved in the handling and use of firearms on the set had a duty to behave in a manner such that the safety of others was protected, and it appears that certain actions and inactions contributed to this outcome,' Carmack-Altwies said.
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A teary-eyed Baldwin claimed on ABC that he was unlikely to face any charges despite the fact that he was holding the gun that went off and killed Hutchins












Hutchins' October 19, 2021 Instagram post showed cast members and staffers, including Baldwin alongside Hutchins herself and armorer Gutierrez-Reed (circled left to right) on the set of Rust in Santa Fe, New Mexico










Halls, an experienced assistant director, is pictured on the set of Rust, outside Santa Fe in New Mexico






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Bryan W. Carpenter, a weapons armorer who works for Dark Thirty Film Services, said he was skeptical that Baldwin never pulled the trigger.
'In order to make it fire, you have to put your thumb up onto the hammer, cock the hammer all the way back, and then as the hammer is completely cocked back, then you pull the trigger and then the gun fires,' Carpenter told .

'So that's very important because that gun had to have two step process to fire. It had to be cocked and the trigger pulled to fire.'
Carpenter continued: 'Once you cock the hammer back on one of those old west guns, it doesn't take a lot to set that trigger off.'
His comments come after Santa Fe Sheriff Adan Mendoza told the outlet that 'guns don't just go off.
So whatever needs to happen to manipulate the firearm, [Baldwin] did that and it was in his hands.'
But Lisa Tarraco, attorney for Halls - who along with Baldwin and set armorer Gutierrez Reed are the focus of Mendoza's investigation - says she was told by her client that Baldwin did not pull the trigger.
'Dave has told me since the very first day I met him that Alec did not pull that trigger,' Torraco told GMA.

'His finger was never in the trigger guard.'

















Rust cinematographer Halyna Hutchins (center) died after being shot by Baldwin during a rehearsal on October 21
























Mamie Mitchell (left) and attorney Gloria Allred laid out their lawsuit regarding the shooting - which alleges assault, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and deliberate infliction of harm













The suit claims assault, intentional infliction of emotional distress and deliberate infliction of harm.

It also states that the scene being shot did not require a gun to be fired.
'I ran out and called 911 and said, 'Bring everybody, send everybody,''' Mitchell said during a press conference. 'This woman is gone at the beginning of her career.
She was an extraordinary, rare, very rare woman.'
Serge Svetnoy, the head electrician who held Hutchins in his arms as she died has also sued Baldwin, Gutierrez-Reed and assistant director David Halls over 'severe emotional distress' after the fatal shooting and revealed that the scene did not call for Baldwin to fire the gun. 



FULL INTERVIEW: Former "Rust" first camera assistan[url=][url=][/url]


Svetnoy filed the suit against the three crew members - as well as others, who remain unnamed - and claimed that their alleged negligence led to the shooting and put him in emotional turmoil.
Svetnoy alleged in the court documents that the bullet struck director Joel Souza, 48, and killed Hutchins nearly hit him, too, according to TMZ.
He also said that he was one of the first people to tend to Halyna while she was bleeding out and attempted to keep her conscious.
He told TMZ that he's suing Baldwin because he 'owed a duty to the Plaintiff and other crew members and actors on the 'Rust' set to handle the Colt Revolver provided to him by Defendant Halls with reasonable care and diligence for the safety of 'Rust' cast and crew.'























Luper Lane has criticized the film's production as one that created the perfect storm for the tragic shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins

Lane Luper, who served as the film's A-camera first assistant, said he quit one day before the fatal shooting because employees were being overworked, COVID-safety was not being enforced properly and gun safety was poor.
'I think with Rust, it was the perfect storm of the armorer, the assistant director, the culture that was on set, the rushing.

It was everything,' he told Good Morning America about the events that led up to the fatal shooting.
'It wasn't just one individual. Everything had to fall into place for this one-in-a-trillion thing to happen.'
In his letter of resignation, Luper said there had been two accidental weapon discharges on set and one accidental sound-effects explosion that went off around the crew.
'There have been NO explanations as to what to expect for these shots.

When anyone from production is asked we are usually met with the same answers about not having enough time to complete the day if we rehearse or that 'this is a 21 day shoot,'' Luper wrote in the letter.
He added that the crew grew exhausted of long commutes from the set to their lodging, which for some more than two hours away.
'In my 10 years as a camera assistant I've never worked on a show that cares so little for the safety of its crew,' Luper said.
In a statement to Sky News, a spokesperson for the producers hit back at his claims, saying: 'Mr.

Luper's allegations around budget and safety are patently false, which is not surprising considering his job was to be a camera operator, and he had absolutely nothing to do with it or knowledge of safety protocols or budgets.
'As we continue to cooperate with all investigations, we are limited in what we can say,' the spokesperson continued.
'However, safety is always the number one priority.'