The video sheds a lot of light on the events of the shooting.
By Dan O'Reilly — Written on Apr 27, 2022
Police footage has revealed the moment Alec Baldwin first learns that Halyna Hutchins did not survive an accidental shooting on the set of his movie, "Rust."
The new footage has been released by the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office showing some of the early interviews with Baldwin and his coworkers after Hutchins, the movie's cinematographer was fatally shot during filming.
Alec Baldwin has been under a lot of heat since the incident and the new footage has people discussing the October 2021 accident once again.
A new video shows Alec Baldwin’s reaction to the death of Halyna Hutchins.
At the end of the full, unedited footage of the interview — which is one hour and 13-minutes in length — one of the detectives breaks the news to Baldwin that Hutchins had died, saying, “I do have some very unfortunate news to tell you. She didn’t make it.”
Baldwin immediately reacts by sitting upright and exclaiming “No!” before the detective goes on to provide further information.
After the news is broken to him, Baldwin appears to be speechless and simply stares at the detectives.
He is later heard telling detectives that he wants to go call his wife.
Alec Baldwin is seen telling detectives about the events leading to the shooting.
In the video, investigators go over the events leading up to Hutchins’ death with Baldwin, including the logistics and procedures of using firearms on a film set.
In the full interview video, Baldwin answers questions about the types of theatrical ammo that they use, from blanks to bullets that look real to the camera.
Baldwin eventually gets emotional in the video when recalling the moment that the gun went off and Hutchins was shot, saying, “Today I sit here, and whether it was a misfiring theatrical round or a live one I shot this woman with a gun today…”
Alec Baldwin's story seems to be consistent with the interview footage.
Notably, most of Baldwin’s statements in the interview are in line with his later claims, including when he spoke about receiving the gun and believing that it was safe right up until it went off, saying, “It should have been a cold gun with no rounds inside or dummy rounds, cosmetic rounds. No flash. I take the gun out … bang. She hits the ground. She goes down.”
Throughout the interview, Baldwin also indicated that he did not pull the trigger on the gun either, claiming that he slowly drew the weapon and pulled the hammer back, as instructed, while rehearsing the shot.
The interview gives critical insight into the events leading up to the shooting.
Detectives spoke to Baldwin in the immediate aftermath of the fatal shooting, as evidenced by the fact that Baldwin didn’t even know about the fact that Hutchins had died until the end of the video.
Baldwin also decided not to ask for a lawyer and simply spoke to detectives, despite the common wisdom, being that, innocent or guilty, one should always ask for a lawyer when speaking to police in this context.
While we may never know every single detail of the events that led up to the tragic death of Halyna Hutchins, the newly released interview video sheds light on Baldwin’s involvement and the immediate aftermath of the shooting.
Dan O'Reilly is a writer who covers news, politics, and social justice. Follow him on Twitter.