Actor Alec Baldwin revealed that he has “no idea” how a live ammunition round got onto the “Rust” movie set before the fatal shooting last month that left a cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins, dead.
During an interview with ABC News, Baldwin also claimed that he didn’t pull the gun’s trigger. The incident, which has not resulted in any criminal charges, is being investigated by authorities in Santa Fe County, New Mexico.
“I would never point a gun at anyone and pull a trigger at them,” Baldwin said, according to an excerpt of the televised interview, his first since the shooting. While he did not elaborate, the actor may be suggesting that the gun discharged accidentally.
“The trigger wasn’t pulled. I didn’t pull the trigger,” the longtime actor also repeatedly claimed.
Baldwin, 63, asserted that he had “no idea” how a live bullet got on the movie set and that it was not supposed to be there. “I think back and I think about what I could have done,” he also said.
Michigan-based firearms expert Steven Howard appeared to dispute Baldwin’s account, telling Reuters on Thursday that it is “very, very rare” for a gun to misfire, and it would occur if the trigger or hammer suffers a breakage or malfunction. The gun can misfire if it is clogged with debris, he said.
“He may not remember pulling the trigger. That happens quite regularly with traumatic events, but if he insists that he did not pull the trigger, I find that very hard to believe,” Howard said. “If someone puts me in the room with that gun for two minutes, I’ll tell if he’s a liar or not.”
Meanwhile, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza told Fox News that “guns don’t just go off” and said the FBI is examining the firearm.
“So whatever needs to happen to manipulate the firearm,” the sheriff added, Baldwin “did that and it was in his hands.”
Also during the interview, Baldwin became visibly upset when speaking about Hutchins’ death. Other than Hutchins, “Rust” director Joel Souza was wounded during the shooting incident.
“She was someone who was loved by everyone who worked with her, liked by everyone who worked with her … and admired,” Baldwin said, holding back tears. He then added that “it doesn’t seem real to me.”
Meanwhile, several lawsuits have been filed against Baldwin, including one filed in mid-November that alleged the movie’s film script did not require the actor to fire a gun when the shooting took place.
Script supervisor Mamie Mitchell, who filed the lawsuit, alleged that Baldwin was “playing Russian roulette” when he fired the weapon without allegedly checking it.
“There was nothing in the script about the gun being discharged by defendant Baldwin or by any other person,” according to the lawsuit.
