Santa Fe District Attorney Says Alec Baldwin Could Still Face Criminal Charges Over Shooting On The Set Of Rust, Actor Promptly Deletes Twitter Account
Alec Baldwin has deleted his Twitter account after Santa Fe District Attorney, Mary Carmack-Altwies, stated that the actor may still be criminally charged for killing Director of Photography Halyna Hutchins and injuring Director Joel Souza on the set of Rust.
“Everyone involved in the handling and use of firearms on the set had a duty to behave in a manner such that the safety of others was protected, and it appears that certain actions and inactions contributed to this outcome,” Carmack-Altwies told Deadline on Friday.
The Santa Fe DA explained that “certain individuals may be criminally culpable for his/her actions and/or inactions on the set of Rust,” adding that she intends to “exercise my prosecutorial discretion to its fullest, including filing charges that are supported by probable cause,” as her office juggles “various legal theories at the time.”
“As the First Judicial District Attorney,” continued Carmack-Altwies, “I have not made a decision to charge or not charge any individuals involved in the shooting that resulted in the death of Halyna Hutchins and injury of Joel Souza.”
Related: Alec Baldwin Says He Feels No Guilt Following Shooting And Killing Of Halyna Hutchins
Carmack-Altwies’ comments come right after Alec Baldwin sat down with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos and opened up about the tragic incident on the set of Rust, where the actor claimed that it was “highly unlikely” that he would face criminal charges for the killing of Hutchins.
When asked whether he was worried about being criminally charged, the actor said, “I don’t. I’ve been told by people who are in the know…that it’s highly unlikely that I would be charged with anything criminally.”
Anonymous sources from Santa Fe’s law enforcement told Deadline that they were not happy with Alec Baldwin speaking about the incident publicly, as he was allegedly instructed not to make comments on the shooting beyond condolences.
“Interviewed immediately after the shooting and subsequently by the Sheriff’s Office, the Emmy winner has been asked to not comment on the shooting beyond condolences as the police’s investigation continues – requests Baldwin has acknowledged, but is clearly ignoring as he lays out his version of what went down that terrible day,” said one of the unnamed sources.
According to the outlet, a source declared that the department felt “betrayed after all the consideration given to Baldwin in the aftermath of the shooting,” with another source asserting that “Baldwin is testing the department’s patience and becoming a distraction to the ongoing investigation.”
Following the tragic incident that took the life of Halyna Hutchins on the 21st of October, Baldwin took to social media to issue a statement wherein the actor disclosed that he was “fully cooperating with the police investigation.”
“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. I’m fully cooperating with the police investigation to address how this tragedy occurred,” wrote Baldwin at the time.
The Rust actor continued, “I am in touch with her husband, offering my support to him and his family,” adding, “My heart is broken for her husband, their son, and all who knew and loved Halyna.”
Days after sharing his statement on social media, Baldwin opted to protect his tweets in order to more effectively prevent Twitter users from reading both past and future posts.
During his interview with ABC News, Baldwin claimed that the shot that killed Halyna Hutchins and injured Joel Souza was “incidental” and from an angle that may “not have ended up in the film,” going over the steps he followed before accidentally discharging the gun.
“This was a completely incidental shot, an angle that might not have ended up in the film at all. But we kept doing this. So then I said to her, ‘Now, in this scene I’m going to cock the gun.’ And I said, ‘Do you want to see that?’ And she said yes,” recalled Baldwin, adding, “and I let go of the hammer of the gun and the gun goes off. I let go of the hammer of the gun and the gun goes off.”
He went on, “Well, the trigger wasn’t pulled. I didn’t pull the trigger. “No, no, no, no. I would never point a gun at anyone and pull the trigger at them. Never,” adding, “That was the training that I had. You don’t point a gun at somebody and pull the trigger.”
Interestingly, as the interview went on, the actor seemingly contradicted his initial statement, revealing that he did not cock the gun as he previously claimed, stating that he pulled the gun’s hammer “as far back as I could without cocking the actual…”
“And you are holding on to the hammer?” asked Stephanopolous, to which Baldwin replies, “I’m holding. I’m just showing her. I go, ‘How about that? Does that work? You see that?’ Do you see that? Do you see that?’ She goes, ‘Yeah that’s good.’ I let go of the hammer. Bang. The gun goes off.”
What’s more, Baldwin declared that he does not feel any guilt for killing Rust Director of Photography Halyna Hutchins, arguing that “Someone is responsible for what happened and I can’t say who that is, but I know it’s not me.”
What do you make of Santa Fe District Attorney declaring that Alec Baldwin could still face criminal charges for the shooting of Halyna Hutchins on the set of Rust? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section down below or on social media.
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