Alec Baldwin requested a bigger gun model than what he was initially offered for a dramatic scene in Rust, according to a search warrant by the Sante Fe Police Department obtained by Insider.
On October 21, while rehearsing for a scene on set in Santa Fe, Baldwin was handed a gun by the assistant director and held it up at the camera.
The shot accidentally killed 42-year-old cinematographer Hutchins and injured 48-year-old director Joel Souza.
According to a search warrant affidavit, the assistant director shouted "cold gun" before handing Baldwin the gun and was unaware that the weapon was loaded with live rounds.
Investigators with the Santa Fe Police Department obtained the search warrant on Thursday, December 16, which authorizes them to seize Baldwin's cellphone as part of their investigation.
The department is seeking to review text messages, photos, and stored locations on Baldwin's iPhone as they investigate Hutchins's death.
In the warrant, Baldwin told investigators he exchanged emails with the film's armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, and reviewed gun models ahead of the movie's production, during which the actor said he requested a larger gun model for a scene in the movie.
In an interview with Sante Fe authorities, Baldwin said he and Gutierrez-Reed discussed the models of guns before settling on a Colt .45 pistol.
"Alec advised in the scene in the scene he slowly takes the gun out of the holster, then very dramatically turns it and cocks the hammer, which is when the gun goes off," detective Alexandria Hancock wrote in the search warrant.
"Alec described the gun to be a 'period' Colt," Hancock continued. "He [Alec Baldwin] said there were emails transferred back and forth between Hannah and him where she showed him different styles of guns."
The warrant went on to say that Baldwin indicated that he was rehearsing a gun draw at the time, and before the production, he "requested a bigger gun."
"Alec was shown a Colt with a brown handle, and a cherry handle, and he ultimately chose the one with the brown handle," according to the warrant.
Authorities said images of receipts for set items from September have been discovered so far in the investigation, leading authorities to obtain the warrant for Baldwin's iPhone as well.
The investigation is ongoing.
