While driving through Manchester, Vermont, on Saturday, Alec Baldwin decided to pull over and talk to the paparazzi about the fatal shooting on a film set in New Mexico. Halyna Hutchins, a cinematographer, was killed when Baldwin fired a prop gun. "She was my friend," the actor said Saturday. "The day I arrived in Santa Fe to start shooting I took her to dinner with Joel, the director." Joel Souza was wounded in the same shooting. "We were a very, very well-oiled crew shooting a film together, and then this horrible event happened," Baldwin said, Us Weekly reports.
Baldwin repeatedly said he's been ordered by authorities to not discuss the investigation. He said he "talks to the cops every day," per NBC, adding, "I'm cooperating with them." Baldwin said he's met with Hutchins' son and husband, Matt. "The guy is overwhelmed with grief," Baldwin said. The actor said he's kept in touch with Hutchins' husband: "We are very worried about his family and his kid." Baldwin has tweeted about the shooting before but not discussed it on camera until Saturday. His earlier statement has since been removed, per TMZ, which posted a video of Baldwin's comments.
Baldwin told the paparazzi that he stopped to talk to them in the hope that they'd stop pursuing his family's car, per CNN. He was accompanied by his wife, Hilaria, and he said his children were in the car, crying over being followed. His wife, who appeared to be recording the exchange with her cellphone, scolded a questioner who seemed to forget Hutchins' first name. "Her name is Halyna," Hilaria Baldwin said. "If you're spending this much time waiting for us you should know her name."
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Production of the film, Rust, has been halted, and Baldwin said he doesn't expect work to resume. "There are incidental accidents on film sets from time to time," the actor said, "but nothing like this. This is a one in a trillion episode." The actor said he's interested in reducing the use of guns on sets and will support new safety measures. Baldwin added that "we're eagerly awaiting for the sheriff's department telling us what their investigation has yielded." No charges have been filed in the case. (More Alec Baldwin stories.)
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