New Mexico regulators hit 'Rust' producers with maximum fine for safety failures after fatal on-set shooting involving Alec Baldwin

• New Mexico regulators fined "Rust" producers with the maximum possible fine for on-set weapons safety failures, the AP reported.
• New Mexico's Occupational Health and Safety Bureau fined the producers of "Rust" $139,793, according to the AP.

New Mexico state regulators have slapped the production company behind the doomed "Rust" flick with the maximum possible fine for weapons safety failures on the Santa Fe set where actor Alec Baldwin fatally shot a cinematographer last year, according to a report.

New Mexico's Occupational Health and Safety Bureau fined the producers of "Rust" $139,793, the Associated Press reported on Wednesday.

The agency said there was a range of safety failures on the set of the Western movie, which Baldwin was producing and starring in.

"What we had, based on our investigators' findings, was a set of obvious hazards to employees regarding the use of firearms and management's failure to act upon those obvious hazards," Bob Genoway, the bureau chief for occupational safety, told The Associated Press.

Baldwin fatally shot 42-year-old cinematographer Halyna Hutchins inside a church building setting on the Bonanza Creek Ranch movie set on October 21, 2021.

The shooting happened as Baldwin was practicing a cross-draw technique that involved him pointing a Colt .45 revolver at a camera on the set, according to affidavits previously released by the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office.

A bullet from the gun struck Hutchins, mortally wounding her. The movie's director, Joel Souza, was also injured by the bullet.

According to the AP, a report by the Occupational Health and Safety Bureau confirmed that the revolver was handed to Baldwin by "Rust" assistant director David Halls without the oversight of weapons specialists on the set.

In the report, the regulators said that Halls served as the safety coordinator on the "Rust" set and that he witnessed two accidental rifle discharges on set before the fatal shooting, the AP reported.

The report said that Halls and other managers who knew about the two discharges did not take any "corrective" action in connection to the matter, the AP reported.

"The Safety Coordinator was present on set and took no direct action to address safety concerns," the report says, according to the AP. "Management was provided with multiple opportunities to take corrective actions and chose not to do so. As a result of these failures, Director Joel Souza and cinematographer Halyna Hutchins were severely injured. Halyna Hutchins succumbed to her injuries."

In a statement to Insider on Wednesday, Stefan Friedman, a spokesperson for Rust Movie Productions, said: "While we appreciate OSHA's time and effort in its investigation, we disagree with its findings and plan to appeal. Our thoughts and prayers remain with Halyna's family."

New Mexico's Occupational Health and Safety Bureau did not return a request for comment by Insider on Wednesday.