Moment-by-moment account of how Halyna Hutchins was shot by Alec Baldwin

As the investigation into last week’s tragic on-set shooting continues, here’s exactly what we know about the lead-up to Halyna Hutchins’ death.

As detectives work to piece together the puzzle surrounding how Halyna Hutchins was shot and killed on the set of Alec Baldwin film Rust, several alarming details have suggested the set was an accident waiting to happen.

The day began like any other despite a walkout amid grumblings from some members of the crew about pay.

Now a crime scene after the tragic death of cinematographer Hutchins, Bonanza Creek Ranch in the New Mexico desert – which has been used for dozens of western-themed movies and TV series – was designed to look like 1880s Kansas in keeping with the script.

After a lunch break, Baldwin, star and producer of the film, and a small group of others, were rehearsing a scene in a wooden church reminiscent of the area.

In seconds, chaos and confusion erupted, with two people bleeding from gunshot wounds – one of which would prove to be fatal.

Based on the search warrant affidavit and 911 calls, here’s how the tragedy unfolded.

Crew were behind schedule after walk out

Breakfast on set would usually begin at 6.30am, but with six of the camera crew having walked off the job in protest of pay and housing issues, a new crew had been employed and the team were slightly behind schedule.

However, director Joel Souza, who was injured when the weapon fired, told Sante Fe police things appeared to be going smoothly as the crew went ahead with rehearsals.

Baldwin was dressed in 1880s-era clothing and had been practising a scene in a rustic church before breaking for lunch. On returning to the church with a small crew, he was handed what assistant director Dave Halls thought to be a prop gun.

According to a search warrant filed in a Santa Fe court, the gun was one of three that the film’s armourer, Hannah Gutierrez Reed, had set on a cart outside the wooden structure.

Picking the gun up from a cart outside the church, Halls had yelled “cold gun!” to indicate it was not loaded before handing it to Baldwin.

As the group huddled around a single camera – which was not rolling – Baldwin was sat in a church pew demonstrating a “cross draw”, pulling a gun from a holster on the opposite side of his body. The scene then required him to point the gun toward the camera.

Crew member Serge Svetnoy posted this photo on Facebook describing the final scene involving Halyna Hutchins and Alec Baldwin. Picture: Facebook.

At about 1.50pm. Souza told authorities he was standing behind Hutchins viewing the scene through nearby monitors when he heard “what sounded like a whip and then a loud pop”.

According to the affidavit, Hutchins stumbled backward and slumped to the floor, clutching her stomach. Souza, who had been standing beside her, noticed blood on his shoulder.

“Joel then vaguely remembers (Hutchins) complaining about her stomach and grabbing her midsection,” the document reads.

“Joel also said (Hutchins) began to stumble backwards and she was assisted to the ground.

“Joel explained that he was bleeding from his shoulder and he could see blood on Halyna.”

Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins ‘complained about her stomach’ after the gunshot. Picture: Instagram

Chaos broke out on set

As the surrounding crew members realised what had happened, medic Cherlyn Schaefer raced in to try and stop Hutchins’ bleeding, while others frantically dialled 911.

According to Schaefer’s report viewed by The Wall Street Journal, the noise was unexpected because the team were not meant to be using special effects at that point.

“Are we rehearsing? Because ‘fire in the hole’ wasn’t called,” Schaefer said, according to the report.

The phrase ‘fire in the hole’ usually refers special effects being deployed for an explosion.

After hearing someone say “medic emergency” following the bang, Schaefer ran to the church and asked a colleague to apply pressure to the patient’s wound as someone called 911.

Distressed call and swearing

Audio of the 911 call, released on Friday, showed the script supervisor, Mamie Mitchell, summoning help in a frenzied tone.

Mitchell was heard blaming the film’s assistant director for the shot.

“Two people have been accidentally shot on a movie set by a prop gun. We need help immediately,” Mitchell said, according to a transcript of the call obtained by CNN affiliate KOAT.

“A director and a camerawoman have been shot.”

Halyna with husband Mike and their son.

The 911 operator asked if the prop gun was loaded with a real bullet.

“I cannot tell you that,” the woman said. “We have two injuries from a movie, gunshot … I was sitting, we were rehearsing and it went off, and I ran out. We all ran out. They were doubled over … the camerawoman and the director.”

The caller then began cursing at an unidentified person about gun safety on the set.

“OK, this f***ing AD that yelled at me at lunch asking about revisions, this motherf***er.

“Did you see him lean over my desk and yell at me? He’s supposed to check the guns. He’s responsible for what happened,” she was heard saying.

It has since been found that the gun was loaded with live rounds. Picture: Instagram.

Second 911 call

In a second 911 call from an unidentified man on set, a dispatcher told him an ambulance was on the way.

She also offered to give the man instructions on how to stop the victims’ bleeding, with the caller responding that medic Schaefer was helping treat the injured.

According to the transcript, a racket of voices could be heard in the background.

Baldwin’s clothes seized

Hutchins, 42, was flown to a hospital some 55 miles away in Albuquerque, where she was pronounced dead.

Souza, 48, suffered a gunshot wound to his right shoulder and is in recovery.

Meanwhile, a distraught Baldwin, who was seen doubled over in tears after the incident and said to have been “hysterical for hours”, changed into his regular clothes and handed his bloodstained western costume to police.

He then handed the weapon to the head armourer, 24-year-old Hannah Gutierrez Reed, who took the spent casing out and gave it to detectives.

Reports have emerged that Hannah Gutierrez Reed was an inexperienced armourer. Picture: Facebook

Investigators also found two other prop guns, a western-style gun belt and some ammunition.

Still unclear what the gun was loaded with

It remains unclear what was in the gun that Baldwin fired. Detectives learned the armourer, Hannah Gutierrez, had laid three prop guns on the cart before Halls, the assistant director, grabbed one and handed it to Baldwin. Souza told investigators he believed the gun was unloaded and safe.

According to Santa Fe County District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies, an “enormous amount of bullets” was found on the set.

Carmack-Altwies also said it was incorrect to refer to the weapon handled by Baldwin a “prop”.

She also said criminal charges have not been ruled out in the investigation.

“It was a legit gun,” Ms Carmack-Altwies told the paper. “It was an antique-era appropriate gun.”

The gun Alec Baldwin was handed for the scene was a ‘legit gun’ the Santa Fe DA says. Picture: Angela Weiss/AFP

Furthermore, on the set surrounding the small church where Hutchins was killed while Baldwin was rehearsing a scene, “an enormous amount of bullets” was found.

The prosecutor said investigations into the nature of the ammunition located at the scene were underway.

“We need to find out what kinds they were,” Ms Carmack-Altwies explained.

It comes after unconfirmed reports that crew members were using guns with live ammunition for target practice hours before the incident.

Criminal charges have not been ruled out as the investigation continues.