Alec Baldwin 'was practicing pointing gun at camera' before fatal shooting, court document shows

Alec Baldwin was rehearsing a scene that saw him drawing a gun and pointing it at a camera when he shot and accidentally killed a cinematographer with a weapon he believed was not loaded, court records show.

The report shows cameraman Reid Russell told a detective Mr Baldwin was rehearsing a scene on Thursday in which he was set to draw his gun while sitting in a church pew and point it at the camera before the fatal accident.

The camera was not rolling when the gun went off, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, Mr Russell told police.

Mr Baldwin said “there are no words to convey my shock and sadness” after the incident.The Hollywood actor confirmed he is “fully cooperating” with the police investigation into the accident.

Authorities said on Friday the assistant director, Dave Halls, had handed the weapon to Baldwin and announced “cold gun,” indicating it was safe to use.

When asked about how Mr Baldwin treated firearms on the set, Mr Russell said the actor was very careful, pointing to an instance when Mr Baldwin made sure a child actor was not near him when a gun was being discharged.

The affidavit also includes statements from director Joel Souza, who was standing behind Mrs Hutchins and was wounded.

It detailed the moments before the shooting and reveals there was disruption on the set the day of the shooting.

Several members of the camera crew walked off the production in a dispute over payment and how far away from the set their lodgings were, Mr Russell said, and he was left with a lot of work to do.

Only one camera was available to shoot the scene, and it had to be moved because the light had shifted and there was a shadow.

He said he was unsure whether the weapon was checked before it was handed to Mr Baldwin.

Mr Souza said he was focused on how the scene would appear on camera. He said he recalled hearing the phrase “cold gun” being used before the incident and the scene they were shooting did not call for the use of live rounds.

Hollywood professionals say they are baffled by the circumstances and production crews have quickly stepped up safety measures.

Jeffrey Wright, who has worked on projects including the James Bond, was acting with a weapon on the set of Westworld when news broke of the shooting and said: “I don’t recall ever being handed a weapon that was not cleared in front of me — meaning chamber open, barrel shown to me, light flashed inside the barrel to make sure that it’s cleared. Clearly, that was a mismanaged set.”

Actor Ray Liotta agreed with Wright that the checks on firearms are usually extensive.

“They always — that I know of — they check it so you can see,” Liotta said. “They give it to the person you’re pointing the gun at, they do it to the producer, they show whoever is there that it doesn’t work.”