After the death of a camerawoman on the set of his film, actor Alec Baldwin has denied blame through his lawyer.
Halyna Hutchins' death was a "horrifying tragedy" but he was not responsible for the fatal accident, according to a letter from attorney Luke Nikas, quoted by the New York Times and Deadline.
In the letter, Baldwin's attorney said there were other prop safety experts on set.
"An actor cannot decide that a gun is safe," the letter said.
"That falls under the responsibility of other people on set."
Additionally, Baldwin's attorney describes how Hutchins instructed the actor to hold the gun on set.
He then pulled the trigger, but did not cock it fully when the shot was fired, it is said.
The 37-page statement also includes text messages between Hutchin's widower Matthew and Baldwin.
US media originally reported that the two developed a friendly relationship after Hutchin's death on October 21 last year.
Baldwin then said in an interview with ABC in December that he was not responsible for what happened.
In the meantime, the relatives of the Ukrainian-American camerawoman filed a lawsuit against Baldwin and other film participants in Santa Fe (New Mexico) in mid-February.
In the incident at the western "Rust" film ranch, chief camerawoman Hutchins (42) was fatally injured and director Joel Souza was hit in the shoulder.
Baldwin, who serves as lead actor and producer on the film, had operated the gun in rehearsal for one scene.
Investigations revealed that the Colt had a real bullet in it.
Police investigations into how this happened are ongoing.