The Santa Fe Police Department released body cam and interview footage on April 26, 2022 of Alec Baldwin discovering Halyna Hutchinson’s death. Baldwin accidentally fired a shot off of what was supposed to be a cold gun on the set of the movie Rust in October, but the gun was loaded with a real bullet that struck Hutchinson, resulting in her death.
One hundred sixty eight hours of footage were released by the Santa Fe Police Department this week that included interviews with crew members right after the incident by police officers. The footage also included Baldwin being interrogated by detectives about the incident.
“You have no idea how unbelievable this is and how strange this is. I don’t want to be a public person and you know I’m the one holding the gun in my hand,” Baldwin said as he was seen FaceTiming his wife Hilaria Baldwin before being interrogated by officers. “And you know everybody was supposed to be taken care of. They always hand me a cold gun.”
When talking to a detective, Baldwin is read his Miranda Rights and asks if he’s charged with anything. The detective responds that he wasn’t being charged and clarifies that the conversation was just an interview. “I take the gun out and as the barrel clears, I turn and cock the gun and the gun goes off,” Baldwin explained, Baldwin was also shown photo evidence of the bullet that hit director Joel Souza. “That’s a bullet,” Baldwin confirms. “As I suspected, somebody put a live round in the gun.”
The footage also revealed the devastating moments after the incident happened. Footage included Hutchins being tended to by first responders and Souza laying on the ground after being shot. Baldwin appeared to be in costume and cooperative with law enforcement by answering questions. Several crew members, including armorer Hannah Guiterrez-Reed, appeared shocked as well.
As of April 2022, Baldwin has not been charged by police officials. On October 27, 2021, Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies said at a press conference that “all options are still on the table.” However, the actor and several crew members are being sued by Serge Svetnoy, a technician on the set of Rust, who claimed that the defendants’ negligence caused him severe emotional distress after the incident.
Svetnoy was right next to Hutchinson when she was shot. Svetnoy claims that he was “standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Halyna during the fatal shot that took her life.” He wrote in a Facebook post on October 2021: “I was holding her in my arms while she was dying. Her blood was on my hands. I want to tell my opinion on why this has happened. I think I have the right to do it. It’s the fault of negligence and unprofessionalism.”