Alec Baldwin breaks silence after accidental shooting that killed colleague
Alec Baldwin has broken his silence following the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the film Rust.
In a video released by TMZ, Mr Baldwin said that Ms Hutchins "was a friend," calling the incident a "one in a trillion event" and said he had met with Ms Hutchins' husband and son.
"We were a very, very well-oiled crew shooting a film together and then this horrible event happened," Mr Baldwin told reporters.
'One in a trillion event'
The actor said he isn't allowed to comment on the investigation, but spoke to the photographers "as a courtesy" so they would stop following his family.
He was accompanied by his wife Hilaria, who filmed the interaction with her phone and made several attempts to stop reporters from asking questions.
“There are incidental accidents on film sets from time to time, but nothing like this,”the 30 Rock actor said. “This is a one-in-a-trillion episode, a one-in-a-trillion event.”
"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," he said.
"As I said, we are eagerly awaiting for the sheriff's department to tell us what their investigation has yielded."
FBI to analyse the projectiles fired
Investigators in New Mexico where the shooting occurred have said that there was "some complacency" in how weapons were handled on set, but it is too soon to determine whether charges will be filed.
Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza has said 500 rounds of ammunition — a mix of blanks, dummy rounds and suspected live rounds - were found while searching the set.
Detectives have recovered a lead projectile they believe the actor fired. Testing is being done to confirm whether the projectile taken from Director Joel Souza shoulder — who was also injured in the accident — was fired from the same long Colt revolver used by Mr Baldwin.
The FBI will help with the examination of evidence from firearms.
Sheriff Mendoza appeared on the Today show on Thursday (local time), saying that Mr Baldwin has not "been cleared" in the investigation.
He said that armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed and assistant director David Halls "are obviously the focus of the investigation" as they handled the gun before Mr Baldwin and told the actor it was "cold," or safe, when there was actually live ammunition in it.
Ms Hutchins, 42, was killed when Mr Baldwin accidentally misfired a prop gun with a live round, instead of blank cartridges on October 21. Director Joel Souza was also injured.
'Rust' armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed breaks her silence, blames producers for 'unsafe' set
'Rust' gaffer shares 'last photo' of Halyna Hutchins on set with Alec Baldwin
The tragic incident has triggered a debate on the use of firearms on film sets, with some suggesting they should be replaced with rubber and airsoft guns instead of prop guns, which include both real guns as well as toy guns or defunct weapons. These are usually loaded with blanks or blank cartridges, not bullets.
with AAP
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