October 25, 2021
SANTA FE, N.M: Alec Baldwin has been seen consoling the family of the cinematographer he accidentally killed on the set of his movie, as more reports emerged on Sunday of troubling practices during the filming of the Western "Rust".
A distraught Baldwin was photographed outside a hotel in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on Saturday embracing and talking with Matt Hutchins, the husband of Halyna Hutchins, and their nine-year-old son.
Baldwin, 63, on Friday said he was shocked and heartbroken at the death of Hutchins. The 42-year-old was killed and director Joel Souza was wounded when Baldwin discharged a prop gun containing a live round that he had been handed and told was unloaded, authorities in Santa Fe have said in court documents.
In a statement read to a candlelight vigil on Saturday, Hutchins called his wife's death "an enormous loss."
No one has been charged in the fatal incident during a rehearsal on Thursday at the Bonanza Creek Ranch outside Santa Fe as the local sheriff's office continues its investigation.
But multiple media and social media reports have raised concerns about safety protocols on the set of the low-budget movie, and have described a walk-out by several camera operators and their assistants just hours before the accident.
In one of the most troubling, celebrity website TMZ.com, citing unidentified sources connected to the production, said the gun handed to Baldwin had previously been used by crew members for target practice off-set, using real bullets.