Alec Baldwin has made a bombshell claim about his involvement in a deadly shooting on a
film set — but not everyone is buying his side of the story.
In October, tragedy struck in New Mexico on the set of Alec Baldwin's film, "Rust."
According to various reports, including the initial investigation by the Santa Fe County
Sheriff, the actor was given a prop gun that he thought was loaded with blank rounds while
shooting a scene on the Bonanza Creek Ranch.
During a rehearsal, he fired it in the direction of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and director
Joel Souza. Both were hit with the bullet. Hutchins died from her injuries, while Souza
was released from a local hospital after a short period of time.
Shortly after the shooting, Baldwin broke his silence with a statement on social media.
The actor, who was also a producer on the movie, wrote,
"There are no words to convey my shock and sadness regarding the tragic accident that
took the life of Halyna Hutchins, a wife, mother, and deeply admired colleague of ours."
Baldwin also said that he was, quote, "fully cooperating with the police investigation
to address how this tragedy occurred."
"During the initial investigation it was determined that actor-producer Alec Baldwin was the person
that fired the weapon."
During an impromptu roadside interview with paparazzi in Manchester, Vermont days after
the shooting, Baldwin spoke about his relationship with Hutchins, describing her as a friend.
He also told the cameras,
"We were a very, very well-oiled crew shooting a film together, and then this horrible event
happened."
Baldwin's wife, Hilaria Baldwin, has also been vocal in defending her husband following
the accident. Now, Baldwin is speaking for himself.
The actor chose to do his first post-accident sit-down interview with George Stephanopoulos
on "ABC News," where he tearfully recalled the events leading up to the fatal shooting
of Halyna Hutchins.
When Stephanopoulos asked the actor why he pulled the gun's trigger when it wasn't even
in the script, Baldwin made a bombshell claim.
"Well, the trigger wasn't pulled, I didn't pull the trigger."
"So you never pulled the trigger."
"No, no, no, no, no. I would never point a gun at anyone and pull a trigger at them,
never."
The actor also said that there was never supposed to be a real bullet in the gun and he doesn't
know how the bullet got onto the film's set to begin with. According to the Santa Fe County
sheriff, approximately 500 rounds of ammunition were recovered from the set.
"We have recovered what we believe to be possible additional live rounds on set."
After Baldwin's interview clip with Stephanopoulos was released, a lawyer for "Rust's" assistant
director, Dave Halls, said that her client also insisted Alec Baldwin didn't pull the
trigger on the gun.
"[...] Baldwin had his finger outside the trigger guard parallel to the barrel, and
[...] he told me since day one he thought it was a misfire."
Alec Baldwin's claim that he didn't pull the trigger on the gun that fired the fatal shot
has been met with a fair amount of backlash and questioning.
One of the people who has doubts about the actor's statement is Sheriff Adan Mendoza.
Speaking to Fox News Digital following the publication of Baldwin's claim, the Santa
Fe sheriff said,
"Guns don't just go off. So whatever needs to happen to manipulate the firearm, he did
that and it was in his hands."
As of the making of this video, ABC News has only released a snippet of the sit-down. But
people have still taken to social media to weigh in on Baldwin's interview.
One Twitter user argued,
"F.LLI Pietta long colt 45 revolver is a single action firearm. It requires substantial user
input to fire. Claiming he didn't pull the trigger is a lie that defies the laws of physics."
Another person tweeted,
"Alec Baldwin is claiming he didn't pull the trigger in the shooting on the movie set.
If that defense works we will have to let loose alot of criminals."
Even George Clooney questioned the firearm safety practices on the set of "Rust," offering
his take on the situation during an appearance on Marc Maron's "WTF" podcast.
"Every single time I'm handed a gun on a set — every time, Marc — they hand me a gun,
I look at it, I open it, I show it to the person I'm pointing it to, we show it to the
crew — every single take!"
The investigation into the "Rust" shooting is ongoing.
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