Hilaria Baldwin says her heart is with ‘her Alec’ after set shooting

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Hilaria Baldwin has paid tribute to Halyna Hutchins, the woman her husband Alec accidentally killed last week in an on-set tragedy while shooting his new movie Rust. 

In an Instagram post on Monday, Hilaria wrote: ‘My heart is with Halyna. Her husband. Her son. Their family and loved ones. And my Alec. 

‘It’s said “there are no words” because it’s impossible to express the shock and heartache of such a tragic accident. Heartbreak. Loss. Support.’ 

She was inundated with support from fellow celebrities like Katie Couric and Melanie Griffith. 

Alec, 63, accidentally killed the 42-year-old cinematographer on the set of their movie Rust in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on Thursday. 

Baldwin was rehearsing drawing his gun across his body when it went off. He thought the gun was loaded with blanks, after being told ‘cold gun’ as Assistant Director Dave Halls gave it to him. 

There are now questions over how live ammunition made its way onto the set. 

Baldwin was pictured buckled over in grief on Thursday afternoon after being interviewed by sheriff’s deputies. 

It’s believed Hilaria – with whom he shares six kids – flew to be with him in New Mexico in the early hours of Friday morning. 

The 37-year-old has not been seen publicly, but Baldwin was seen in Santa Fe on Sunday, embracing Hutchins’ widower Matthew. 

The incident has been unanimously described as an accident but many in the film and TV industry have started pointing fingers at who is to blame.

David Halls is the assistant director of Rust, the Western movie Baldwin was acting in and producing when he accidentally killed Hutchins on Thursday and wounded director Joel Souza. 

Search warrants reveal that Halls, and everyone else on the set, was unaware the gun he handed Baldwin contained live ammunition. 

He had declared it a ‘cold’ weapon, meaning it was loaded only with blanks.

As police investigate what exactly happened in the moments leading up to the tragic accident, pyrotechnicians and prop masters who worked with Halls on other projects told DailyMail.com about their concerns about him. 

One crew member, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of being blacklisted, told DailyMail.com that he’d worked with Halls on two similarly low-budget sets in Los Angeles in spring 2019, one where a revolver and Glock were used, and another involving shotguns.  

Each morning they’d have a meeting to discuss the weapons and other safety issues, an industry standard. But he said Halls didn’t think they were needed.

‘He was very flippant about my insistence on having a safety meeting about the weapons, on both of the sets,’ said the crew member, who asked to use the pseudonym “Jay” and has worked on films for 10 years.

‘He would rush through it and say, alright guys, be safe, let’s get to work.’

‘Even though the guns were not loaded, you have to treat it as if it always is,’ he said. “And for me that means doing a safety meeting that may be seen as unnecessary but should absolutely be done so that everyone is on the same page.”

‘Systemically, so much pressure is put on the first assistant directors to meet a schedule, to ‘make the day,’ meaning to get all the work done that you already have scheduled for the day,’ he continued. 

‘When it comes to safety on set, or having to wait for anything, because safety takes time, I have seen 1st ADs get annoyed for having to wait. 

‘But they ultimately understand it needs to be done. But when I worked with him, it was the only time I’ve had any AD ask me, “Do we really need to have a safety meeting?”‘

On both sets, no live bullets were used, and no guns were pointed at another person. Camera angles made it appear as if the guns were on target. And before anyone placed their finger on a trigger, an ‘armorer’ or person on set responsible for weapons, would shine a flashlight down the barrel to show no blockage or potential projectile.

‘When you fire, no projectile is supposed to come out, though it still could be dangerous,’ Jay said. ‘That’s where there are rules. You don’t aim it at anybody at any time.’

At 1.50pm, Baldwin was preparing for the scene, sitting in a church pew, when he was handed the weapon by Halls. What exactly happened next is unclear but Souza described hearing a ‘pop’, then seeing Halyna wounded. 

After the shooting, Baldwin changed out of his Western costume into ‘street clothes’ for police to recover his clothes. The affidavit says they had ‘blood stains’ on them. 

Production of the film has been halted now while the authorities continued to investigate. In an email to crew on Sunday night, the movie producers encouraged staff not to speak to the press about the accident.

Souza, the director, told police how Baldwin had been preparing for the scene when the gun went off.

‘Joel stated that they had Alec sitting in a pew in a church building setting, and he was practicing a cross draw. Joel said he was looking over the shoulder of (Hutchins), when he heard what sounded like a whip and then loud pop. 

‘Joel then vaguely remembers (Hutchins) complaining about her stomach and grabbing her midsection. Joel also said (Hutchins) began to stumble backwards and she was assisted to the ground.’ 

The information about Thursday’s shooting has emerged in new affidavits which also cite cameraman Reid Russell who told investigators that Baldwin had always been careful with weapons on set. 

In a previous scene, he asked that a child who was nearby be removed from the set to avoid any accidents. 

On Sunday night, the cast and crew received an email from the film’s production company which encouraged them not to speak to the media. 

Many had complained online about the conditions they were working under before they walked off the set. 

The email also said they were working to determine when crew would be able to return to set to gather belongings.  

‘As the investigation continues, we cannot respond to the comments that have been making their way into the media, on social media and elsewhere. 

‘We are sorry to hear that so many of you are receiving unsolicited contacts from the media while all of us need time and space to grieve and heal. 

‘You don’t need to engage, but if you do just ask that the journalists to respect your privacy. It should help,’ the email says.