The American actor Alec Baldwin assured Saturday January 8, 2022 to collaborate in the investigation into the shooting which killed a scenario writer during the shooting of the film Rust, nearly a month after the police were allowed to seize his cell phone. “Any innuendo that I don’t comply with queries, orders, demands or foreclosure warrants regarding my phone is bullshit, that’s a lie“, launched the actor in a video posted on Instagram. And yet, this famous phone is, after several weeks of waiting, still not in the hands of the investigators.
He explained that the authorities in the state of New Mexico, where the tragedy occurred last October, were working in connection with those in the state of New York, where he lives, and that the steps to recover the phone were taking a long time. “Of course, we’re going to be 1,000% compliant with all of that. We totally agree with that“, assured the actor, who remains very vague as regards the slowness of the process. It is a safe bet that the lawyers of the actor need time to verify that this phone does not really contain anything of incriminating on their client.
U.S. investigating officers were allowed to seize Alec Baldwin’s cell phone on December 16, who was handling the revolver in question during the accident, and who is also a producer of the low-budget western. At the time of the drama, on October 21 at a ranch in Santa Fe (New Mexico), Alec Baldwin was working on a scene with director of photography Halyna Hutchins.
He maintains that he never pulled the trigger of the gun when the shot was fired, saying that he contented himself with cocking the hammer. And he said in a TV interview that he didn’t “no idea“how a real bullet may have ended up on the film set and”to get into the gun“, which had been presented to him as being harmless. The warrant issued in mid-December estimates that”there may be evidence in the phone“relating to this matter, such as messages or emails sent or received by Alec Baldwin regarding the production of Rust.
No arrests have been made in this case to date, but criminal prosecution is not excluded, including against Alec Baldwin, should responsibility be established. In an interview with the American channel ABC, broadcast on December 2, Alec Baldwin said he felt neither guilty nor even “responsible“of the death of Halyna Hutchins. “The best way, the only way to pay homage to Halyna Hutchins is to find out the truth. This is what I work on, what I insist on, what I demand“Alec Baldwin said in his Instagram post.
There was another injured during the filming of Rust. Team member Jason Miller claims he was bitten by a spider on set and has since been at risk of losing his arm.