Authorities to present findings in fatal movie-set shooting

Law enforcement authorities are scheduled to discuss initial findings about a fatal movie-set shooting with a prop gun discharged by actor Alec Baldwin that left a cinematographer dead and the director wounded.

Scheduled for Wednesday, the news conference by Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza and District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies promises the first detailed public comments by investigators about the killing of 42-year-old Halyna Hutchins during on-set rehearsal at a ranch outside Santa Fe.

The sequence of events on Oct. 20 has baffled Hollywood professionals and prompted calls to better regulate movie-set firearms or even ban them in the age of seamless computer-generated imagery.

Court records say that an assistant director, Dave Halls, grabbed the gun from a cart and handed it to Baldwin, indicating the weapon was safe by yelling "cold gun." But it was loaded with live rounds, according to a written affidavit from a detective.

Baldwin, 63, who is known for his roles in "30 Rock," "The Departed" and "The Hunt for Red October" along with impression of former President Donald Trump on "Saturday Night Live," has described the killing as a "tragic accident."