Alec Baldwin shooting: Investigation takes new turn

Assistant director Dave Halls, who handed Alec Baldwin the gun that killed a cinematographer, has admitted that he didn´t fully check the weapon.

Halyna Hutchins lost his life after Baldwin shot her with the Colt .45 he was pointing at a camera for low-budget western "Rust" being filmed in New Mexico.

The live round passed through her torso and struck director Joel Souza in the shoulder. The sheriff investigating the fatal shooting spoke of "complacency" on the US movie set.

Halls told detectives he remembers seeing ammunition in the period weapon before he handed it to Baldwin. Moviemakers sometimes use inert, or dummy, bullets in props.

"He advised he should have checked all of them, but didn´t, and couldn´t recall if (armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed) spun the drum" to show him what was inside the gun, an affidavit says.

Halls handed Baldwin the weapon using the phrase "cold gun" -- industry lingo for an inert firearm.

An investigation into last Thursday´s fatal shooting has recovered 500 rounds of ammunition from the set, Sheriff Adan Mendoza told reporters, adding that detectives believe they were a mix of blanks, dummies and live rounds.

Baldwin is expected to be named in any lawsuit because of his deep pockets, and because his fame would help draw media coverage, according to Sullivan.