Alec Baldwin moans Halyna Hutchins death investigation has taken years off HIS life!
SANT FE, NEW MEXICO: Ten months after cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was shot dead on the set of 'Rust', actor Alec Baldwin stated he believes that he, armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed or others will not face criminal charges. The actor, 64, accidentally shot Hutchins, 42, while filming a movie titled 'Rust' at Bonanza Creek Ranch in Santa Fe, New Mexico in October 2021, injuring director Joel Souza. Recently, in a recent interview with CNN Baldwin broke down, revealing that the catastrophic incident has "taken years off" his life and impacted him professionally.
Baldwin has constantly denied that he pulled the trigger and the gun was supposed to be loaded with dummy bullets on the movie set of 'Rust'. While prosecutors in New Mexico are awaiting the investigative report by the Santa Fe Sheriff's office and considering whether to file criminal charges in connection with the fatal shooting, the actor has also hired a private investigator.
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Speaking about the tragic shooting, Baldwin told CNN, ''That private investigator as you probably know, did not have a difficult time accessing the staff of the sheriff's department, and that person told us - quote, unquote - we've known in the department since January that Alec would not be charged with a crime.'' Baldwin's attorney reportedly added that ''it would be a huge misarrange of justice'' if he was charged following the deadly shooting.
The FBI issued a report recently stating that the gun could not have gone off unless Baldwin intentionally fired it. It means he could still face criminal charges as a result of the incident, with the Santa Fe Sheriff's Department confirming that the case will be forwarded to the District Attorney.
Meanwhile, Reed told DailyMail that the FBI has yet to test the real bullets that killed Hutchins for fingerprints in order to determine how they ended up on set.
''The primary question in this case from the beginning has been where did the live rounds that ended up on the Rust set to come from? The Sheriff’s office made a conscious decision not to pursue this question at all by refusing to ask the FBI to test any of the rounds for fingerprints or DNA," she said. ''We now know for certain there were live rounds on set. It is inconceivable that the Sheriff would not seek answers to this fundamental question and it raises a serious problem with the entire investigation. We have long sought this answer and will not give up in pursuing the truth to find it.''
However, during the interview, Baldwin blamed the tragedy on Reed, the film's armorer and props assistant, and assistant director Dave Halls, who gave him the gun. Reed and Halls, through their respective attorneys, accused Baldwin of shifting blame to others. "Someone put a live bullet in the gun who should have known better," Baldwin said. "That was [Gutierrez Reed's] job. Her job was to look at the ammunition and put in the dummy round or the blank round, and there wasn't supposed to be any live rounds on the set".
"There are two people who didn't do what they were supposed to do," he added. "I'm not sitting there saying I want them to, you know, go to prison, or I want their lives to be hell. I don't want that, but I want everybody to know that those are the two people that are responsible for what happened."
Baldwin also questioned aloud if the movie's props supplier Seth Kenney accidentally supplied real bullets to the 'Rust' set. According to an FBI report released recently, dozens of rounds consistent with real bullets were discovered on the set.
In January, Reed filed a suit against Kenney. In the suit, Reed accused Kenney of selling her a cache of dummy ammunition with live rounds mixed in. Kenney's attorneys filed an answer in July, denying any allegations and asking the court to dismiss the case.
Baldwin believes he will not face criminal charges based on the information provided by his private investigator. Baldwin believes Gutierrez Reed and Halls will not face criminal charges as well. "I'm pretty confident neither one of them should ever work in a film set again," he said. "I sincerely believe ... [investigators are] going to say that this was an accident. It's tragic." Baldwin added that he does not want to "condemn" Reed.
"I mean, maybe it's Catholic in me," Baldwin said. "I have an impulse to say, I don't want to see anybody suffer. I don't want to sit there and say you know, go get her and condemn her."
Baldwin also claimed that he does not go a day without thinking about Hutchins and what happened that day. "Everybody adored her as a person," Baldwin said, praising Hutchins' talent and character. "That she died, that's the worst thing of all. Somebody died, and it was avoidable. It was so unnecessary," he said. "Every day of my life I think about that."