Baldwin explains how the gun was handled on the set of "Rust"
(Jae C. Hong/AP)
Actor Alec Baldwin provided some insight into how the gun used on the set of "Rust" was handled by him and armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed.
"In the protocols of the business, Hannah would hand me the gun 99% of the time, whatever, the preponderance of the time," Baldwin said during an interview with ABC's George Stephanopoulos. "But when we would say cut, if Hannah was away from the set, I would hand [assistant director David] Halls the gun."
Baldwin also addressed whether Reed was overworked on the set.
"No, I assume that everyone that is shooting a lower budget film is stretched, myself included," Baldwin said. "I got no complaints from her or the prop department."
Halyna Hutchins attends the SAGindie Sundance Filmmakers Reception in Park City, Utah, in 2019. (Fred Hayes/Getty Images)
Actor Alec Baldwin became emotional describing first meeting cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, who died during a shooting on the set of his latest film, "Rust."
"She was fantastic," Baldwin told ABC's George Stephanopoulos in an interview.
“The people who watch the dailies said that her work was beautiful. She was someone who was loved by everyone who worked with and liked by everyone."
Baldwin said he didn't know Hutchins prior to working on the film.
8:48 p.m. ET, December 2, 2021
Baldwin on the shooting: "I would go to any lengths to undo what happened"
(ABC News)
Actor Alec Baldwin spoke about why he decided to sit down for an interview with ABC to discuss the shooting on the set of "Rust" in October.
"I thought there were a number of misconceptions," Baldwin said he wanted to address while the investigation into the shooting that killed the film's director of photography, Halyna Hutchins, 42, continues.
"I really feel like I can't wait for that process to end in February or March," he said.
Baldwin added, "I would go to any lengths to undo what happened."
7:47 p.m. ET, December 2, 2021
"Rust" assistant director also says Baldwin did not pull trigger
From CNN's Julia Jones
An attorney for Dave Halls, the assistant director on the set of “Rust,” corroborated Alec Baldwin’s claim that he never pulled the trigger of the antique gun that discharged in that October movie set shooting, telling ABC on Thursday that her client has said “the entire time Baldwin had his finger outside the trigger guard, parallel to the barrel.”
“He told me since day one he thought it was a misfire,” attorney Lisa Torraco said of her client, adding, “until Alec [Baldwin] said that, it was just really hard to believe, but he told me that since the very first time I met him, that Alec [Baldwin] did not pull the trigger.”
ABC also spoke to one of the suppliers of ammunition for the production, Seth Kenney, who said the live rounds seized by investigators from his prop shop on Wednesday do not match the live rounds that were on set.
“They found four rounds that were close enough to take in with them. They’re not a match, but they were close so there’s something very unique about the live rounds that were found on ‘Rust,’ but we’ve got to wait for the FBI to do its job,” Kenney said.
But Kenney denied that the live rounds that ended up on the Colt .45 gun were provided by him. “It's not a possibility that they came from PDQ [the supplier] or myself personally. When we send dummy rounds out, they get individually rattle-tested before they get sent out. So if you have a box of 50, you've got to do it 50 times and at that point you know they're safe to send,” Kenney said.
In an affidavit entered into court this week, a detective wrote that Kenney told authorities that he had received "reloaded ammunition" from a friend two years earlier that “stuck out to him." The round, which Kenney suspected was live, was in a cartridge with the logo of Starline Brass, a company he said only sells components of ammunition, not live ammunition.
The affidavit also described how Thell Reed, an industry veteran and the father of “Rust” armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed, told detectives in an interview that he had given Kenney an “ammo can” with live rounds for training on a different movie this year and never received it back. Reed said he believed the can was still in Kenney's possession, according to the affidavit.
7:36 p.m. ET, December 2, 2021
What we know about the "Rust" set shooting
From CNN's Sandra Gonzalez and Lisa Respers France
Bonanza Creek Ranch in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on October 23. (Jae C. Hong/AP)
The gun discharged by actor Alec Baldwin during a fatal shooting on the set of "Rust" fired a "suspected live round," the Santa Fe County sheriff has said.
Investigators believe they have recovered the "lead projectile" and shell casing from the ammunition that struck and killed the film's director of photography, Halyna Hutchins, 42, and injured director Joel Souza on the New Mexico movie set in October.
"The facts are clear: A weapon was handed to Mr. Baldwin. The weapon is functional and fired a live round, killing Ms. Hutchins and injuring Mr. Souza," Sheriff Adan Mendoza said at a joint news conference on Oct. 27.
Approximately 500 rounds of ammunition — a combination of blanks, dummy and live rounds — have been seized from the set, Mendoza said. He said officials believe the lead projectile that was fired from the gun was recovered from Souza's shoulder.
A total of three guns were seized from the proximity of the incident, Mendoza added. In addition to the one believed to have been fired by Baldwin, one was altered and not functioning and the other was plastic.
He said the evidence would be submitted to the FBI for further processing.
Baldwin, armorer Hannah Gutierrez and assistant director David Halls have been cooperative with investigators, according to Mendoza.
According to an affidavit for a search warrant, Souza said he was shot in the shoulder and Hutchins was killed as Baldwin practiced drawing a prop gun during rehearsal for the Western at the Bonanza Creek Ranch in Santa Fe.
The director told investigators Baldwin was "sitting in a pew in a church building setting, and he was practicing a cross draw," as stated in the affidavit. A cross draw is when a shooter pulls the weapon from a holster on the opposite side of the body from the draw hand.
Souza also said Hutchins was "complaining about her stomach and grabbing her midsection" after the shot was fired.
Authorities have said that they have recovered some camera footage but they believe there is no footage of the actual incident.
Alec Baldwin on "Rust" set shooting: "I didn't pull the trigger" of gun
From CNN's Julia Jones
Alec Baldwin told ABC News he never pulled the trigger of the gun that shot director of photography Halyna Hutchins on the set of "Rust."
"The trigger wasn't pulled. I didn't pull the trigger," Baldwin said in an excerpt released Wednesday from the sit-down interview — his first since the October shooting.
When asked why he pointed the gun at Hutchins and pulled the trigger when that wasn't in the script, Baldwin said, "I would never point a gun at anyone and then pull the trigger, never."
Baldwin also said he has no idea how a live bullet got in the Colt .45 revolver he used in the scene.
"Someone put a live bullet in the gun, a bullet that wasn't even supposed to be on the property," he said.
An emotional Baldwin visibly fought back tears when talking about Hutchins.
"She was someone who was loved by everyone who worked with her, liked by everyone who worked with her — and admired," Baldwin said, adding, "it doesn't seem real to me."
When asked by George Stephanopoulos if the shooting was the worst thing that had ever happened to him, Baldwin said yes, "because I think back and I think, what could I have done?"
ABC is set to air the interview tonight.
6:52 p.m. ET, December 2, 2021
Alec Baldwin sits down with ABC News after fatal "Rust" shooting
From CNN's Chloe Melas and Oliver Darcy
Alec Baldwin speaks with George Stephanopoulos. (ABC News)
Alec Baldwin sat down with ABC News for his first formalinterview since discharging a prop firearm that killed a crew member and injured another on the set of the film "Rust."
The interview was conducted by anchor George Stephanopoulos and took place Tuesday, a person familiar with the matter told CNN Business.
Baldwin's spokespeople did not respond to CNN Business' request for comment. A spokesperson for ABC News also did not respond to requests for comment.
ABC is set to air the interview tonight at 8 p.m. ET.
The sit-down comes more than a month after the incident left 42-year-old cinematographer Halyna Hutchins dead on the New Mexico set. Director Joel Souza was also injured in the Oct. 21 shooting.
Baldwin's interview with Stephanopoulos marks the first time the actor is speaking extensively about the incident. In addition to his initial statement, he made remarks to paparazzi that appeared in a video posted to TMZ's website.
