Reports on the shooting by the New Mexico state agency on the set of Rust will be released by Thursday of this week. According to New Mexico law, the state’s Occupational Health and Safety Bureau must submit citations in opposition to the film’s production company. The Bureau has to report within six months of the accident. On October 21, 2021, cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and directer Joel Souza were shot by actor Alec Baldwin, leaving Hutchins dead and Souza wounded.
“We are on track to release the report by the April 21 deadline,” Matthew Maeza, a spokesperson for the New Mexico Environment Department, told Deadline. “I don’t have details about the report findings to share at this time.”
The department’s deputy cabinet secretary, Rebecca Roose, said, “Our state OSHA program is investigating this,” the day after the shooting. In January, she updated the public with, “our investigation is looking into possible workplace safety violations by the Rust production company.”
The report by the Bureau comes as the Santa Fe Sheriff’s office continues its investigation at the Bonanza Creek Ranch. The police nor the D.A. have charged or arrested anyone in the case, although there has been a multitude of lawsuits filed. The biggest one was a wrongful death suit by the Hutchins family against Baldwin.
The Bureau, which is a part of a New Mexico Environment Department division, can impose fines against the film’s production company but is not allowed to charge them. The Santa Fe District Attorney and Sheriff’s Department have that domain and are still investigating.
Baldwin has said he did not pull the gun’s trigger and that it had to have misfired. However, Baldwin has also stated the gun was not loaded.
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