Alec Baldwin didn't know the weapon contained live round

An assistant director unwittingly handed Alec Baldwin a loaded weapon and told him it was safe to use in the moments before the actor fatally shot a cinematographer, court records released Friday show.

"Cold gun", the assistant director announced, according to a search warrant filed in a Santa Fe court. Instead, the gun was loaded with live rounds, and when Baldwin pulled the trigger on Thursday on the movie set, he killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. Director Joel Souza, who was standing behind her, was wounded, the records said.

The Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office obtained the warrant Friday so investigators could document the scene at the ranch outside Santa Fe where the shooting took place. They sought to examine Baldwin's blood-stained costume for the film "Rust", as well as the weapon that was fired, other prop guns and ammunition, and any footage that might exist.


The gun was one of three that the film's armorer, Hannah Gutierrez, had set on a cart outside the wooden structure where a scene was being acted, according to the records. Assistant director Dave Halls grabbed the gun from the cart and brought it inside to Baldwin, unaware that it was loaded with live rounds, a detective wrote in the search warrant application.

Baldwin described the killing as a "tragic accident"

"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 cooperating with the police investigation," Baldwin wrote on Twitter.

No immediate charges were filed, and sheriff's spokesman Juan Rios said Baldwin was permitted to travel.

"He's a free man," Rios said.