Probe of Alec Baldwin's Fatal Shooting Nears End

Police said an investigation into Alec Baldwin's fatal shooting of a crew member on the set of "Rust" is nearing completion.

The incident happened Oct. 21 when a prop gun that actor and producer Baldwin was holding during rehearsals discharged, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounding writer-director Joel Souza. Baldwin has maintained he did not pull the trigger throughout the investigation, which now requires his phone records in order to move forward, according to NPR.

"The district attorney's office has been working with Suffolk County PD, and Baldwin's lawyer to acquire the phone records," Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said. "Once Suffolk County PD completes its agency assist and sends those records to New Mexico law enforcement, our detectives will need to then thoroughly review those phone records for evidentiary purposes."

The next step will be for investigators to analyze a report from the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator (OMI), which used forensic reports from the FBI to complete its probe.

"Once Sheriff's detectives complete their review of the OMI reports, and once the phone records are received and reviewed by detectives, the final sheriff's office investigative case file will be forwarded to the district attorney for review and final charging decisions," said the Santa Fe sheriff's office.

Earlier this year, New Mexico's Environment Department's Occupational Health and Safety Bureau (OHSB) issued a "Willful-Serious" citation to Rust Movie Productions, LLC, according to Newsweek, which noted that it resulted in a $136,793 civil penalty. In response, Baldwin's attorney, Luke Nikas, said that the safety investigation exonerated the star.

"We are grateful to the New Mexico Occupational Health and Safety Bureau for investigating this matter," Nikas said. "We appreciate that the report exonerates Mr. Baldwin by making clear that he believed the gun held only dummy rounds and that his authority on the production was limited to approving script changes and creative casting."

• Footage of Alec Baldwin Rehearsing With Gun on 'Rust' Set Released
• Alec Baldwin’s Lawyers Claim Actor Not Liable for ‘Rust’ Shooting Death