New Footage Shows Alec Baldwin Rehearsing with Gun Moments Before Fatal Rust Shooting
New footage released by the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office shows Alec Baldwin rehearsing with a revolver on the Rust set just moments before cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was fatally shot on set.
“Today the sheriff’s office is releasing all files associated with our ongoing investigation,” said Sheriff Adan Mendoza in a statement.
“The files are all related to the Rust movie set investigation and include lapel/dash camera footage from deputies and detectives, incident reports, crime scene photos, examination reports, witness interviews, set video, and staff photos collected throughout the course of this investigation.”
In the video released Monday, Baldwin is seen in character, sitting in a church pew with his full Western-style costume on. He places his hand into his jacket, pulls out the gun, and points it towards the camera — acting out his character’s moves before the official take.
The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office has released evidence related to the deadly shooting on “Rust” movie set in New Mexico last year. Included is this clip of the scene where the film’s cinematographer was killed by a gun in Alec Baldwin’s hands pic.twitter.com/enNq4sJLo7
— J.D. Miles (@jdmiles11) April 25, 2022
Moments after practicing, that same gun, identified as an F.lli Pietta 45 Long Colt Revolver, later misfired and killed Hutchins, also wounding director Joel Souza.
Baldwin has insisted he did not pull the trigger despite the fact that he was holding the gun, and has said he believed the weapon, provided by armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed, was “cold” as they were not shooting the scene yet.
Baldwin can also be seen describing the incident in new footage of his first witness interview.
“I take the gun out slowly. I turn, I cock the pistol,” Baldwin said. “Bang, it goes off. She (Hutchins) hits the ground. She goes down. He (Souza) goes down screaming.”
Following the release of the footage, an attorney for Baldwin, Luke Nikas, said in a statement that the actor welcomes the ongoing investigation.
“The information that has been revealed by the authorities demonstrates, once again, that Mr. Baldwin acted responsibly and did not have control over any production issues that were identified in the OSHA report,” he said. “Additionally, the interviews and affidavits disclosed today continue to corroborate Mr. Baldwin’s description of the events—including an affidavit from the Detective stating that the cameraman, who was standing next to Ms. Hutchins and Mr. Souza at the time of the accident, confirmed that Mr. Baldwin was ‘very careful’ with guns on the set.”
Since the shooting, the Hutchins family has filed a lawsuit against Baldwin and others involved in the film, claiming that executives were “cutting corners on safety procedures where human lives were at stake” and that they ignored “numerous complaints of safety violations.”
Rust script supervisor Mamie Mitchell has also sued Baldwin and the film’s producers, claiming “Baldwin intentionally, without just cause or excuse, cocked and fired the loaded gun even though the upcoming scene to be filmed did not call for the cocking and firing of the firearm.”
Watch above, via CNN.
