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Alec Baldwin was handed a loaded prop gun by an assistant director who indicated it was safe to use, moments before the actor fatally shot his crew member, according to court documents.

The assistant director yelled “cold gun” before handing him the firearm on the set of the Western film Rust, a search warrant filed in a Sante Fe court showed.

He did not know the weapon was loaded with live rounds.

Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was shot in the chest, while director Joel Souza was wounded.

Investigators obtained the warrant on Friday to document the scene where the incident took place.

The weapon that was fired was taken as evidence, along with Baldwin’s blood-stained costume for the film.

Investigators also seized prop guns and ammunition that were being used on the set.

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Earlier Baldwin said he was devasted by the incident, saying on Twitter: “There are no words to convey my shock and sadness regarding the tragic accident that took the life of Halyna Hutchins, a wife, mother, and deeply admired colleague of ours.

“I’m fully co-operating with the police investigation to address how this tragedy occurred and I am in touch with her husband, offering my support to him and his family.

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

The company behind filming, Rust Movie Productions, said in a statement it would conduct a review of procedures after the LA Times reported at least one prop gun had previously misfired and some crew members had walked off set.

The statement said: “Though we were not made aware of any official complaints concerning weapon or prop safety on set, we will be conducting an internal review of our procedures while production is shut down.”

Alec Baldwin’s daughter, Ireland, said she wished she could hug her dad “extra tight” following the incident.

Writing on Instagram, she said: “My love and support go to Halyna Hutchins’ family and friends. Sending healing thoughts to Joel Souza. And wishing I could hug my dad extra tight today.”

Ms Hutchins was taken to the University of New Mexico Hospital but later pronounced dead.

Mr Souza was taken by ambulance to Christus St Vincent Regional Medical Center, but has since been discharged, actress Frances Fisher said.

Innovative Artists, who represented Ms Hutchins, called her an immensely talented “a ray of light” who was “always smiling, always hopeful”.

“All those in her orbit knew what was coming; a star director of photography, who would be a force to be reckoned with,” they added.

Baldwin was later seen on Thursday outside the sheriff’s office in tears. Detectives said he willingly provided a statement.

Juan Rios, a spokesman for the sheriff’s office, said: “This investigation remains open and active. No charges have been filed in regard to this incident. Witnesses continue to be interviewed by detectives.”

Rust, which was due to keep filming until November, is about a 13-year-old boy who is left to fend for himself and his younger brother after his parents’ death in 1800s Kansas, according to the Internet Movie Database.

The film’s production has been halted and the company making the film said it is providing counselling services to everyone connected with it.

A former army officer and firearms instructor said: “A thought should be spared also for the actor who discharged the firearm because that is something he’s going to have to live with for the rest of his life – when these things happen they are awful.”

Hutchins was named a “rising star” by American Cinematographer magazine in 2019 and was director of photography on the 2020 action film Archenemy, starring Joe Manganiello.

“I’m so sad about losing Halyna,” said Archenemy director Adam Egypt Mortimer on Twitter.

“And so infuriated that this could happen on a set.

“She was a brilliant talent who was absolutely committed to art and to film.”

Manganiello said he was lucky to have Hutchins as director of photography on the film.

American filmmaker Elle Schneider wrote on Twitter: “Sick and devastated to hear that my friend and rockstar cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed on set today in New Mexico.

“I don’t have words to describe this tragedy. I want answers. I want her family to somehow find peace among this horrific, horrific loss.

“Halyna was shooting the Western RUST when she died. Women cinematographers have historically been kept from genre film, and it seems especially cruel that one of the rising stars who was able to break through had her life cut short on the kind of project we’ve been fighting for.”

The incident has been compared with the death of Brandon Lee, son of the late martial arts star Bruce Lee, who died while filming a death scene for the movie The Crow in 1993 when he was 28 years old.

The .44-calibre weapon used was supposed to fire a blank but an autopsy revealed a bullet lodged near his spine.

A Twitter account run by Lee’s sister Shannon said: “Our hearts go out to the family of Halyna Hutchins and to Joel Souza and all involved in the incident on ‘Rust.’ No one should ever be killed by a gun on a film set. Period.”

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Flesh-eating screwworm parasite detected in person in US for first time

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Flesh-eating screwworm parasite detected in person in US for first time

A case of the flesh-eating screwworm parasite has been detected in a person in the United States for the first time.

The parasitic flies eat cattle and other warm-blooded animals alive, with an outbreak beginning in Central America and southern Mexico late last year.

It is ultimately fatal if left untreated.

The case in the US was identified in a person from Maryland who had travelled from Guatemala.

Beth Thompson, South Dakota’s state veterinarian, told Reuters on Sunday that she was notified of the case within the
last week.

A Maryland state government official also confirmed the case.

The person was treated and prevention measures were implemented, Reuters reports.

The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Maryland Department of Health did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

What is screwworm?

The female screwworm fly lays eggs in the wounds of warm-blooded animals and once hatched, hundreds of screwworm larvae use their sharp mouths to burrow through living flesh.

It can be devastating in cattle and wildlife, and has also been known to infect humans.

Treatment is onerous, and involves removing hundreds of larvae and thoroughly disinfecting wounds. They are largely survivable if treated early enough.

The confirmed case is likely to rattle the beef and cattle futures market, which has seen record-high prices because of tight supplies.

The US typically imports more than a million cattle from Mexico each year to process into beef. The screwworm outbreak could cost Texas – the biggest cattle-producing state – $1.8bn (£1.3bn) in livestock deaths, labour costs and medication
expenses.

A view shows a calf after being sprayed with a disinfectant spray to prevent screwworm. Pic: Reuters
Image:
A view shows a calf after being sprayed with a disinfectant spray to prevent screwworm. Pic: Reuters

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has set traps and sent mounted officers along the border, but it has faced criticism from some cattle producers and market analysts for not acting faster to pursue increased fly production via a sterile fly facility.

What is a sterile fly facility?

The case also comes just one week after the US agriculture secretary, Brooke Rollins, travelled to Texas to announce plans to build a sterile fly facility there in a bid to combat the pest. Ms Rollins had pledged repeatedly to keep screwworm out of the country.

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A sterile fly facility produces a large number of male flies and sterilises them – these males are then released to mate with wild female insects, which collapses the wild population over time. This method eradicated screwworm from the US in the 1960s.

Mexico has also taken efforts to limit the spread of the pest, which can kill livestock within weeks if not treated. It had started to build a $51m sterile fly production facility.

The USDA has previously said 500 million flies would need to be released weekly to push the fly back to the Darien Gap, the stretch of rainforest between Panama and Colombia.

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National Guard will begin carrying firearms in Washington DC, official says

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National Guard will begin carrying firearms in Washington DC, official says

National Guard troops deployed to Washington DC in an effort to mitigate crime will begin carrying firearms, an official has said.

Defence secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the authorisation of roughly 2,000 National Guard troops to begin carrying weapons.

The majority of the guard members will carry M17 pistols, their service-issued weapons, while a small number will be armed with M4 rifles, reports Sky’s US partner organisation, NBC News.

The troops are authorised to use their weapons for self-protection.

A White House official told NBC News that despite being armed, as of Saturday night, the National Guard troops in DC are not making arrests, and will continue to work on protecting federal assets.

The troops were largely deployed from outside the state and were framed by President Trump as a concerted effort to tackle crime and homelessness in the nation’s capital.

Such deployments are not common, and are typically used in response natural disasters or civil unrest.

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Democrats have bashed the deployment as partisan in nature, accusing Mr Trump of trying to exert his presidential authority through scare tactics and said his primary targets have been cities with black leadership.

Armed members of the South Carolina National Guard patrol outside of Union Station. Pic: AP
Image:
Armed members of the South Carolina National Guard patrol outside of Union Station. Pic: AP

Pentagon plans to deploy US army to Chicago

Yesterday it was reported that the Pentagon was drafting plans to deploy the US army in Chicago, the largest city in the state.

The governor of Illinois then accused Mr Trump of “attempting to manufacture a crisis” and “abusing his power to distract from the pain he is causing working families”.

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Officials familiar with the proposals told the Washington Post that several options were being weighed up by the US defence department, including mobilising thousands of National Guard troops in Chicago as early as September.

Mr Trump had told reporters on Friday that “Chicago is a mess”, before attacking the city’s mayor, Brandon Johnson, and hinting “we’ll straighten that one out probably next”.

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Trump seeking to ‘manufacture a crisis’ in Chicago, says Illinois governor

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Trump seeking to 'manufacture a crisis' in Chicago, says Illinois governor

The governor of Illinois has accused Donald Trump of “attempting to manufacture a crisis” over reports the US president was considering deploying the military in the state.

US newspaper The Washington Post reported on Saturday that the Pentagon was drafting plans to deploy the US army in Chicago, the state capital.

It comes as part of Mr Trump’s crackdown on crime, homelessness, and illegal immigration in mainly Democrat-run cities. He recently deployed the National Guard in Washington DC.

In a statement responding to the report, governor JB Pritzker said Illinois had “received no requests or outreach from the federal government asking if we need assistance, and we have made no requests for federal intervention”.

He added: “The safety of the people of Illinois is always my top priority.

“There is no emergency that warrants the President of the United States federalising the Illinois National Guard, deploying the National Guard from other states, or sending active duty military within our own borders.”

The governor then said: “Donald Trump is attempting to manufacture a crisis, politicise Americans who serve in uniform, and continue abusing his power to distract from the pain he is causing working families.

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“We will continue to follow the law, stand up for the sovereignty of our state, and protect the people of Illinois.”

Officials familiar with the proposals told the Post that several options were being weighed up by the US defence department, including mobilising thousands of National Guard troops in Chicago as early as September.

The Pentagon said it would not comment on planned operations, adding: “The department is a planning organisation and is continuously working with other agency partners on plans to protect federal assets and personnel.”

People protest against President Donald Trump's use of federal law enforcement and National Guard troops in Washington DC. Pic: AP
Image:
People protest against President Donald Trump’s use of federal law enforcement and National Guard troops in Washington DC. Pic: AP

Mr Trump, however, told reporters on Friday that “Chicago is a mess,” before attacking the city’s mayor Brandon Johnson and hinting “we’ll straighten that one out probably next”.

Mr Johnson has not yet commented on Saturday’s reports, but said on Friday that the president’s approach to tackling crime has been “uncoordinated, uncalled for and unsound”.

“There are many things the federal government could do to help us reduce crime and violence in Chicago, but sending in the military is not one of them,” he added.

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It comes after around 800 National Guard troops were deployed in Washington DC earlier this month, despite the US capital’s mayor revealing crime in the capital was at its “lowest level in 30 years”.

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What’s it like having the army on DC’s streets?

According to preliminary figures from Washington DC’s Metropolitan Police, violent crime is down 26% in 2025 – after dropping 35% in 2024 compared with 2023.

In June Mr Trump ordered 700 US Army marines and 4,000 National Guard troops to Los Angeles in California, during protests over mass immigration raids.

The deployment came against the wishes of state governor Gavin Newsom, who said: “The federal government is sowing chaos so they can have an excuse to escalate.

“That is not the way any civilised country behaves.”

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