While out with his wife, Hilaria, actor Alec Baldwin was stopped by a group of photographers. According to reports, Alec had been spotted in and around Vermont following the shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
As Mamas Uncut previously reported, Baldwin was holding the prop gun when it unexpectedly fired during a rehearsal for his newest movie Rust. The bullet struck Hutchins in the chest and director Joel Souza in the shoulder.
While Souza survived the tragic incident, Hutchins did not. She leaves behind a husband and young son. The investigation into how this happened remains ongoing.
However, as several affidavits revealed, it’s believed that protocol was not followed before assistant director David Halls yelled “cold gun” and handed the firearm to Baldwin. In his only statement since the shooting, Halls reportedly told investigators that although he should have double-checked the firearms before pulling them from the cart stocked by the armorer, he did not.
Last week, Baldwin shared an initial statement on Twitter, saying, “There are no words to convey my shock and sadness regarding the tragic accident that took the life of Halyna Hutchins, a wife, mother, and deeply admired colleague of ours. I’m fully cooperating with the police investigation to address how this tragedy occurred and I am in touch with her husband, offering my support to him and his family. My heart is broken for her husband, their son, and all who knew and loved Halyna.”
Alec Baldwin Speaks to Photographers for the First Time About the On-Set Incident That Killed His Friend Halyna Hutchins
Now Baldwin is making another public statement. As it was shared by Fox News, a video revealed Baldwin and his wife on the side of a remote road with their cellphones seemingly recording the photographers standing in front of them.
In the clip, Alec Baldwin is heard asking the group what they want to know. That’s when one photographer asked him what the current state of the investigation is.
“I’m not allowed to make any comments because it is an ongoing investigation. I’ve been ordered by the sheriff’s department in Santa Fe, I can’t answer any questions. I can’t,” Baldwin explained. “It’s an active investigation in terms of a woman dying, she was my friend. She was my friend.”
Off-camera, Fox News reports that Baldwin’s statements continued. “We were a very, very well-oiled crew shooting a film together, and then this horrible event happened.”
He also reportedly spoke on how Halyna’s husband is doing. “He is in shock, he has a nine-year-old son. We are in constant contact with him because we are very worried about his family and his kid. As I said, we are eagerly waiting for the sheriff’s department to tell us what their investigation has yielded.”
Baldwin was also asked if he would ever work with a firearm on set again. But that was another question he said he “couldn’t answer.” “I really don’t have any — I have no sense of that at all. I do know that an ongoing effort to limit the use of firearms on film sets is something I’m extremely interested in.”
Alec Baldwin further elaborated on that comment. “There are incidental accidents on film sets from time to time, but nothing like this. This is a one-in-a-trillion episode. It’s a one-in-a-trillion event.”
“But remember, how many bullets have been fired in films and TV shows in the last 75 years. This is America. How many bullets have gone off in movies and on TV sets before? How many, billions in the last 75 years? And nearly all of it without incident. So what has to happen now is, we have to realize that when it does go wrong and it’s this horrible, catastrophic thing, some new measures have to take place. Rubber guns, plastic guns, no live, no real armaments on set. That’s not for me to decide. It’s urgent that you understand I’m not an expert in this field, so whatever other people decide is the best way to go in terms of protecting people’s safety on film sets, I’m all in favor of, and I will cooperate with that in any way that I can.”
Fox News reported that he offered to take the photographers’ questions if they gave him and his family some space.