Alec Baldwin Speaks on Halyna Hutchins’ Death: ‘One-in-a-Trillion’ Accident

Alec Baldwin spoke to photographers Saturday for the first time since the incident with a prop gun resulted in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the film Rust.

Baldwin and his family have been laying low in Vermont since the accident occurred October 21st. However, paparazzi tracked down the actor and his wife Hilaria in Vermont Saturday, with Baldwin – as a “courtesy,” so they’d stop following his family around – speaking to them but noting he couldn’t comment on the incident itself, TMZ reports. 

“I’m not allowed to make any statements because it’s an active investigation,” he said. “I’ve been ordered by the Sheriff’s department in Santa Fe, I can’t answer any questions about the investigation.” The actor, who was also a producer on Rust, said that he continues to speak to investigators on a daily basis. 

“She was my friend. The day I arrived in Santa Fe to start shooting, I took her to dinner with Joel the director,” Baldwin added of Hutchins. “We were a very, very well-oiled crew shooting a film together, and then this horrible event happened.”

Baldwin, who previously met with Hutchins’ husband Matthew and son in the days following her death, said of Matthew, “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. As I said, we are eagerly awaiting for the sheriff’s department to tell us what their investigation has yielded.”

He added, “There are incidental accidents on film sets from time to time, but nothing like this. This is one-in-a-trillion.” Baldwin said that Rust will likely not go back into production.

Baldwin previously tweeted the day after Hutchins’ death, “There are no words to convey my shock and sadness regarding the tragic accident that took the life of Halyna Hutchins, a wife, mother, and deeply admired colleague of ours. I’m fully cooperating with the police investigation to address how this tragedy occurred and I am in touch with her husband, offering my support to him and his family. My heart is broken for her husband, their son, and all who knew and loved Halyna.”

Director Joel Souza was also injured in the on-set incident where Baldwin was handed a prop gun he believed was “cold” but actually contained live rounds. Assistant sirector Dave Halls “grabbed” the gun from among three set up on a gray rolling table by armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed and yelled “cold gun” as he handed it off to Baldwin moments before the deadly tragedy, a search warrant revealed. 

On Friday, Reed blamed producers and “unsafe” set conditions for the tragedy.