Alec Baldwin does not believe sabotage led to ‘Rust’ shooting
Actor Alec Baldwin does not believe the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the movie “Rust” was caused by sabotage.
In an interview with ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos that aired Thursday, Baldwin said it was “overwhelmingly likely” that the Oct. 21 incident at the Bonanza Creek Ranch in New Mexico was an accident.
Baldwin was holding a Colt .45 revolver during a marking rehearsal for the low-budget western, when the prop gun discharged a live bullet that killed Hutchins and wounded director Joel Souza.
When Stephanopoulos asked about the possibility of sabotage — a charge raised by the lawyer for Hannah Gutierrez Reed, the armorer for the production — Baldwin could find no reason for it.
“That’s an enormous charge to make, that someone came and did something, for what purpose?” Baldwin said. “To attack who? To discredit who? To harm me? The production?”
Baldwin also said he does not expect to be criminally charged in the matter. The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office has been scrutinizing the actions of Baldwin, who was also a producer on the western, as well as assistant director David Halls and Gutierrez Reed.
Baldwin does expect Hutchins’ husband to file a civil suit over her death. “He’s entitled to something as far as I’m concerned,” he said.
Two crew members have already filed civil suits against the producers, including Baldwin, accusing them of negligence.
While he expressed grief over Hutchins’ death, Baldwin said he does not feel any responsibility for what happened. “Someone put a live bullet in a gun, a bullet that wasn’t even supposed to be on the property,” Baldwin said. “Someone is responsible for what happened, and I can’t say who that is, but I know it’s not me.”
Baldwin also offered more details on his assertion that he did not pull the trigger of the gun. To get the shot, Baldwin said he needed to cock the gun but not fire it. “The trigger wasn’t pulled,” he said. “I didn’t pull the trigger. I cock the gun. I go, ‘Can you see that? Can you see that?’ And then I let go of the hammer of the gun, and the gun goes off.”
Once Hutchins was hit by the bullet, she collapsed. Baldwin thought she had fainted. He was not aware she had died until he was interviewed by police nearly an hour later.