Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said on Thursday that the deadly shooting that occurred on the set of the film "Rust" is an ongoing "criminal investigation," and that officers are focused on finding out how and why live ammunition was on set.
During a press conference, Mendoza outlined what investigators have determined at this point about the shooting, which involved actor and producer Alec Baldwin, who killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, and injured director Joel Souza.
"The facts are clear: a weapon was handed to Mr. Baldwin. The weapon is functional and fired a live round, killing Ms. Hutchins and injuring Mr. Souza," Sheriff Adan Mendoza said during the joint news conference with the district attorney's office, according to Fox News.
He noted that investigators found about 500 rounds of ammunition, including what appeared to be live rounds, on set despite the film’s armorer saying that no live ammunition was kept on set.
"The information that we've got in the industry is that there should be no live rounds on set," he added. "So, again, we’re going to try to determine why they were there and who brought them there."
On NBC’s "Today" show on Thursday, Mendoza said that the armorer’s statement is "obviously" not accurate.
"No, obviously it isn’t," he said. "That was a live round that struck and killed Ms. Hutchins, so that is not an accurate statement as far as I’m concerned."
"I think during the interviews, the focus of the investigation is how the live rounds got there, who brought them there and why they were there," Mendoza said. "As far as if it’s going to rise to the point of negligence or the point of criminal charges, we’re hoping to work with the district attorney in reference to that so it’s a clear determination if charges should be filed."
He also noted that "nobody’s been cleared as of yet."
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