Santa Fe DA rejects 'conspiracy theories' that the Rust set was sabotaged

Santa Fe County District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies has rejected suggestions that the fatal shooting on the set of Rust may have been the result of "sabotage," as floated by attorneys for the movie's armorer.

Carmack-Altwies told Good Morning America there's no evidence that the Alec Baldwin movie was sabotaged before cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed and director Joel Souza injured after Baldwin discharged a prop gun during rehearsal for a scene.

"I know that some defense attorneys have come up with conspiracy theories and have used the word sabotage," she said on Wednesday. "We do not have any proof."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Her comments came after attorneys for Rust's armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, floated the idea that someone may have sabotaged the set by intentionally placing a live round in a box of dummy rounds. "I believe that somebody who would do that would want to sabotage the set, want to prove [a] point, want to say that they're disgruntled, they're unhappy," attorney Jason Bowles told Today. But when asked on GMA if she thinks it's possible the Rust set could have been sabotaged, Carmack-Altwies responded, "No."

The investigation into the fatal Rust shooting is still ongoing after officials said last month they recovered 500 rounds of ammunition and a lead projectile. The probe still hasn't uncovered an answer as to how live rounds ended up on the set of the movie, Carmack-Altwies told GMA, but she explained this will be "one of the most important factors" in determining whether anyone will be charged. The district attorney also criticized the "many levels of failures" on the film production, and when asked if she's prepared to press criminal charges, she said, "If the circumstances warrant it, absolutely. We will do our best to get justice for Halyna Hutchins and Joel Souza."