Alec Baldwin makes first public comments on “one in a trillion” shooting

Alec Baldwin spoke in public for the first time since he accidentally killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on a film set earlier this month, saying “she was my friend”.

Speaking to reporters, the actor said he would be in favor of limiting the future use of firearms in film productions to protect people’s safety.

He said the police had ordered him not to discuss the ongoing investigation.

Prosecutors say they have not ruled out the filing of criminal charges on the case.

Ms. Hutchins, 42, was killed on the set of Western Rust in the US state of New Mexico when Baldwin unknowingly fired a pistol loaded with a live bullet. The director of the film, Joel Souza, was shot in the shoulder.

“She was my friend. The day I arrived in Santa Fe and started taking pictures, I took her to dinner with Joel,” Baldwin told photographers who had followed him and his family to the state of Vermont.

“We were a very, very well-oiled crew doing a movie together and then this horrible event happened.”

The video of the exchange was posted on the TMZ website. Baldwin said the accident was “one episode in a trillion” and that accidents of this nature occur very rarely.

“An ongoing effort to limit the use of firearms on movie sets is something I am extremely interested in,” he added.

On Wednesday, investigators said a “lead bullet” had been removed from the director’s shoulder and that it appeared to be a live bullet. They said there was “a little complacency” about safety on set.

Meanwhile, lawyers for Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the gunsmith who handled the guns on the Rust set, released a statement this week saying they didn’t know where “the real bullets came from.”

They said he had “never seen anyone shoot live bullets with these guns and would not allow it,” and accused the manufacturers of cutting shortcuts, creating unsafe working conditions.

Baldwin, who also served as a producer on Rust, said he “sincerely doubts” that production on the film will ever resume. A spokesperson for the film’s producers did not comment.