‘WE DON’T BLAME ALEC,’ FAMILY SAYS

ALEC Baldwin has met with the husband and son of the cinematographer he tragically killed on the set of his Western drama Rust.

Baldwin was seen hugging Halyna Hutchins’ husband Matt and the couple’s nine-year-old son near a fountain at a hotel in Santa Fe, New Mexico after the trio had breakfasted at the hotel restaurant.

It is the first time Baldwin has been seen publicly since the shooting that killed Ms Hutchins, 42, and injured director Joel Souza, 48. Baldwin also attended a private memorial for Ms Hutchins alongside the grieving family and other members of the Rust crew. Trauma counsellors were also present.

Mr Hutchins went to Santa Fe after travelling to Albuquerque, where his wife’s body was taken.

A witness told the New York Post that Baldwin looked “beaten”. “His body language was (that) of a beaten man, he was slumped, he looked aged,” they said.

Ms Hutchins’ father Anatoly Androsovych has said the actor isn’t to blame.

“I don’t hold Alec Baldwin responsible – it is the responsibility of the props people who handle the guns,” he said.

It comes amid claims the prop gun fired by Baldwin had been used for target practice by crew members.

US outlet TMZ is reporting the gun was more than a prop and was allegedly being used by Rust crew members for target practice away from the set with real bullets. Live bullets were also reportedly found by police being stored near blanks.

A Hollywood film expert has commented on what he said was the most basic and important rule of gun safety.

“Loaded or unloaded, a weapon never gets pointed at another human being,” Bryan Carpenter said.

Baldwin was heard to ask why he had been handed a “hot” gun for the scene, after he was told it was safe to use.

No charges have been laid, but legal experts say senior people could face manslaughter charges.

“If you are in a position of control ... you can get prosecuted criminally. It’s the equivalent of drinking and driving, meaning someone may not have intended to cause great harm, but they do,” Los Angeles-based lawyer Joseph Costa said.

Documents filed at a Santa Fe court stated the gun was one of three the film’s armourer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed set on a cart for the scene.

Ms Gutierrez-Reed, 24, was on just her second film as head armourer.