There are some new videos out today in the case of the shooting on the Rust movie set and some of it doesn’t look good for Alec Baldwin.
This follows a finding by New Mexico’s Occupational Health and Safety Bureau regarding Rust Movie Productions LLC, which fined the Rust production the maximum — $139,793 — for serious safety failures that occurred on the set. Baldwin’s lawyer claimed that the report exonerated him, but it did no such thing, as I explained in a breakdown of the report, also noting the criminal investigation is still ongoing.
The new video — released by the police investigating the case — shows them arriving on the set and dealing with the shooting. It also shows Alec Baldwin being questioned at the police station, and the director, Joel Souza being questioned at the hospital.
Watch video of interview with Alec Baldwin after 'Rust' shooting – https://t.co/ndq0a1VRBk pic.twitter.com/4QG5Tp8Y7i
— CNN (@CNN) April 26, 2022
Souza says that the armorer handed Baldwin the gun, but all the other witnesses have said it was Dave Halls, the assistant director who did. It’s not clear why Souza is saying that, but he was just shot, so he may not be clear on the matter.
There’s more video of the questioning at the site.
There’s also more of the questioning of Baldwin at the police station, as he describes the gun going off when he cocked it.
Police have released footage of an interview conducted with actor Alec Baldwin from October 2021. Read more: https://t.co/H62y7BUECA pic.twitter.com/vgDI0Vqu1d
— Sky News (@SkyNews) April 26, 2022
One of the most interesting videos is one of Baldwin alone in a room at the police station talking on the phone. Pro tip as an attorney, to people in that situation? Don’t talk on the phone when the police leave the room if you don’t want them to hear what you have to say, because they record things, just like the police did here, with the conversation with his wife.
Alec Baldwin's interview with Sheriff's deputies right after the "Rust" shooting was released today. The moment he learns Halyna Hutchins died, he gasps, puts his hand over his mouth and sits in stunned silence for many moments. https://t.co/XEtkKhD5Zo pic.twitter.com/Q1tkp3I2xo
— Amy Kaufman (@AmyKinLA) April 26, 2022
I’m intrigued about why they released that particular video since they didn’t have to at this point. It also appears that they have more of that conversation — the clip cut off so there was likely more to that conversation. Do they want him to know that they have it?
You can see more videos here that are embedded at the LA Times.
There is a video from an interview with the armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed who is upset that this has destroyed her young career.
However, investigators confirmed Tuesday that they are still investigating “concerning” evidence that the rookie armorer had sought live ammo, such as the bullet that ended up in Baldwin’s gun, while working on another production.
Prop supplier Seth Kenney had shown investigators text messages from Gutierrez Reed making the request, which he said he knocked back in horror, the released interview footage showed.
“She wanted to shoot live ammo out of the guns, the TV/ movie guns. And I said no effing way, obviously,” he said. Gutierrez Reed later sued Kenny, blaming him for the live rounds.
Perhaps one of the most concerning videos was one of Alec Baldwin practicing the same move that he was reportedly doing when he shot Hutchins. This was taken during a rehearsal on the same day and you can see his finger on the trigger.
The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office has released evidence related to the deadly shooting on “Rust” movie set in New Mexico last year. Included is this clip of the scene where the film’s cinematographer was killed by a gun in Alec Baldwin’s hands pic.twitter.com/enNq4sJLo7
— J.D. Miles (@jdmiles11) April 25, 2022
If he was doing the same thing when he shot Hutchins — if that’s where his finger was — that would explain a lot and that’s problematic, and not good for Baldwin. It’s not clear if this footage was of that particular moment immediately before the shooting. Baldwin has claimed he did not pull the trigger.
Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said the investigation was continuing.
“There was information from text messages that was concerning based on the fact that live ammo was spoken about and was possibly used on a prior movie set,” he confirmed to the “Today” show.
“That was just a few months before the ‘Rust’ movie set and production began, so that is concerning,” he said.
So far, nobody has been charged with the shooting — although Mendoza stressed it was “too early to rule anything out.”
“I don’t think anybody’s off the hook when it comes to criminal charges,” he stressed.
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