Alec Baldwin says ‘I didn’t pull the trigger’ on set
Alec Baldwin insists he didn't pull the trigger on a gun he didn't know was loaded. Photo: Twitter
Actor Alec Baldwin says he did not pull the trigger of the gun that fired and killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the movie Rust.
In an TV interview to be released by the ABC in the US on Friday, Baldwin is seen breaking down talking about the October 21 shooting in New Mexico.
It is Baldwin’s first full interview since the incident that killed Hutchins. Rust director Joel Souza was also injured.
“Well, the trigger wasn’t pulled. I didn’t pull the trigger,” the actor tells US broadcaster ABC television host George Stephanopoulos, according to the excerpt of the interview.
“So you never pulled the trigger?” Stephanopoulos asks.
“No, no, no. I would never point a gun at anyone and pull a trigger at them. Never,” Baldwin says.
According to authorities, Baldwin was told the gun was safe to handle. However, the investigation into how a live round ended up in the weapon is ongoing.
Baldwin was questioned by Stephanopoulos how a live round managed to be loaded in the prop gun.
The journalist noted the Rust script never called for a fired gun.
Baldwin said that he had “no idea” how a live bullet got onto the set of the movie he was making near Santa Fe.
The production of the Western film was “paused” after the death of Halyna Hutchins. Photo: AAP
“Someone put a live bullet in a gun, a bullet that wasn’t even supposed to be on the property,” Baldwin said.
Authorities in their investigation have so far noted “complacency” in how weapons were handled and managed on the Rust set.
However, they said it was too soon to determine whether charges would be filed.
A string of independent civil lawsuits concerning liability and gun safety have been filed since the on-set tragedy.
The film’s head of lighting, Serge Svetnoy, filed one lawsuit against Baldwin. It alleges negligence causing him “severe emotional distress” that will haunt him forever.
Baldwin has been seen in public only a handful of times since the October shooting.
He was seen consoling the husband and son of Hutchins just days after the fatal incident, meeting the distraught loved ones.
– with AAP
