Dueling Accounts Emerge About What Occurred in ‘Rust’ Set Deadly Taking pictures

Even who handed Mr. Baldwin the gun that he fired within the incident has been referred to as into query.

In the meantime, the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Workplace in latest days requested key gamers to show over their cellphones, as a part of its investigation.

Legal professionals for each the movie’s gun handler, Hannah Gutierrez Reed, and assistant director David Halls, who authorities say gave Mr. Baldwin the gun, mentioned their purchasers complied with the cellphone requests.

Mr. Baldwin’s lawyer mentioned the actor will proceed to cooperate with authorities and was keen to show over the cellphone, however wanted to “defend his privateness on unrelated issues.” The lawyer mentioned the sheriff’s workplace agreed to return the cellphone, however meant to retain a “full picture” of the contents. Consequently, Mr. Baldwin’s lawyer requested that the sheriff acquire a warrant for the cellphone to restrict investigators’ evaluate to contents on the cellphone which are associated to “Rust.”

A spokesman for the sheriff’s workplace mentioned it wasn’t uncommon for investigators to ask people to voluntarily flip over such property, and declined to debate specifics.

Investigators are sifting via more and more divergent accounts of what occurred that day, together with from Mr. Baldwin, Mr. Halls and Ms. Gutierrez Reed, who’ve all mentioned they aren’t accountable for the capturing.

Jason Bowles, an lawyer for Ms. Gutierrez Reed, mentioned that nobody had advised his consumer that Mr. Baldwin was doing an impromptu scene rehearsal with the gun the afternoon Ms. Hutchins was shot, and that Ms. Gutierrez Reed ought to have been alerted. If she had been referred to as into the church the place the rehearsal was going down, she would have inspected the gun and rounds once more, as was her protocol, Mr. Bowles mentioned, and would have instructed Mr. Baldwin on gun dealing with, together with telling him to not level the weapon at anybody.

Mr. Halls’s lawyer, Lisa Torraco, has rejected the assertion that her consumer handed Mr. Baldwin the gun after taking it off a prop cart. In search warrant affidavits, investigators mentioned Mr. Halls did hand Mr. Baldwin the gun.

Ms. Torraco mentioned that she reviewed audio of Mr. Halls’s interview with the sheriff’s workplace, and that his actions had been described inaccurately in search warrant affidavits.

“Halls by no means grabbed the gun off the prop cart and handed it to Baldwin. By no means. It didn’t occur,” she mentioned.

Juan Ríos, the sheriff’s spokesman, declined to remark.

In an interview with ABC Information that aired earlier this month, Mr. Baldwin mentioned he didn’t pull the set off of the gun that killed Ms. Hutchins and wounded Mr. Souza. Mr. Baldwin mentioned he pulled again the gun’s hammer and let it go, and the gun went off. Mr. Baldwin additionally mentioned he has been advised it was “extremely unlikely” he would face legal costs.

He additionally mentioned he by no means pointed the gun at anybody, didn’t really feel accountable for the capturing and pressured how cautious he’s with firearms. He advised his interviewer, George Stephanopoulos, that he was talking out now as a result of he didn’t wish to look ahead to the outcomes of the investigation to inform his model of occasions.

In a lawsuit filed in November towards the movie’s producers, which incorporates Mr. Baldwin, script supervisor Mamie Mitchell had a unique tackle Mr. Baldwin, and accused him of appearing recklessly with the gun previous to discharging it. Ms. Mitchell’s swimsuit, one among two which have been filed by crew over the incident, alleges there have been poor security protocols on set.

The corporate created to provide the movie, Rust Film Productions LLC, has beforehand mentioned that it’s conducting its personal investigation into the circumstances of the capturing. The manufacturing firm hasn’t commented on any lawsuits.

Household of the crew have additionally waded into the combination. Thell Reed, the daddy of Ms. Gutierrez Reed who can be an armorer, or gun handler, just lately gave an interview to ABC’s “Good Morning America” defending his daughter. He additionally advised investigators to focus their efforts on Seth Kenney, who equipped props for the film, together with weapons and ammunition, via his PDQ Arm & Prop LLC enterprise, in response to a sheriff’s search warrant affidavit.

Mr. Kenney advised investigators that reloaded ammunition—reside rounds made by putting in primer, gunpowder and a bullet into an empty casing—might have ended up on the set together with dummy rounds and blanks he had offered for the film, in response to a search warrant affidavit.

Mr. Kenney mentioned on Dec. 2 on “Good Morning America” that “it’s not a chance that they got here from PDQ or from myself personally.”

The spokesman for the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Workplace didn’t instantly reply to a request for touch upon Mr. Kenney’s assertions.

Members of the crew have additionally been sniping at one another. Lane Luper, a digital camera operator who walked off the set previous to the capturing over a dispute with producers, has been interviewed by information shops and complained that there have been lax security protocols and common sloppiness on the set, portray an image of a chaotic environment.

Final week, after Mr. Baldwin’s ABC interview, Mr. Luper and others from the movie workforce issued an announcement via an lawyer saying, “Alec Baldwin, David Halls, Hannah Gutierrez Reed and the producers of ‘Rust’ are trying to keep away from private duty via unfounded claims and scripted narrative.”

This week, different crew and forged members issued their very own assertion in response, advising to not let the phrases of “just a few disgruntled workers” have an effect on a view of your entire workforce. Descriptions of a harmful and exploitative office are false, the assertion mentioned. Mr. Baldwin posted the letter on his Instagram account.

Following Mr. Baldwin’s interview on ABC, Santa Fe space District Legal professional Mary Carmack-Altwies mentioned in an announcement that legal costs stay potential.

“Everybody concerned within the dealing with and use of firearms on the set had an obligation to behave in a fashion such that the protection of others was protected, and it seems that sure actions and inactions contributed to this consequence,” she mentioned. “As soon as I’ve had the chance to evaluate the entire investigation, sure people could also be criminally culpable for his/her actions and/or inactions on the set of Rust.”

Write to Dan Frosch at dan.frosch@wsj.com, Joe Flint at joe.flint@wsj.com and Katherine Sayre at katherine.sayre@wsj.com