Alec Baldwin shooting: Halyna Hutchins 'grabbed midsection and said she couldn't feel her legs'

Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins told crew members she couldn't feel her legs and was lowered onto the floor by colleagues after being fatally shot in the chest by actor Alec Baldwin.

The actor was said to have been practicing where he was going to fire the weapon when it went off during rehearsals for the movie "Rust", according to an affidavit obtained by the LA Times.

Director Joel Souza told police that the weapon was described to him as a "cold gun", meaning it did not have any live rounds in.

FILE PHOTO: Host Alec Baldwin arrives at the 2nd Annual NFL Honors in New Orleans, Louisiana, February 2, 2013. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo
Lucy Nicholson

The fatal shooting of Ms Hutchins has left Hollywood reeling, with serious questions being asked about safety on film sets.

In a Santa Fe sheriff's detective affidavit used to obtain a search warrant, the document reveal how Souza heard "what sounded like a whip and then a loud pop".

Souza said he was looking over Hutchins' shoulder when then gun was shot. She then grabbed her midsection, stumbled backwards, and was "assisted to the ground".

Camera operator Reid Russell's account to detectives also gives a detailed chronology of how the tragedy unfolded.

Russell described hearing a loud bang, seeing a bloody Souza and hearing Hutchins say she couldn't feel her legs, according to the affidavit.

Just moments before, Baldwin was explaining how he was going to draw the gun and where his arm would be positioned when it went off, Russell said.

Souza said three people handling the gun for the scene were armourer Hannah Gutierrez Reed, then assistant director Dave Halls, who handed the gun to Baldwin, the affidavit obtained by the LA Times says.

The search warrant released on Sunday gave police authority to seize firearms, ammunition and other bits of hardware to help with their investigations. Two crew members on the film told the LA Times that, less than a week earlier, a stunt double had fired two accidental prop gun discharges after being told the gun was "cold.

Rust Movie Productions said in a statement that the safety of its cast and crew is “the top priority” and it was not aware of official complaints raised about weapon safety and will conduct an internal review.