Just hours after the FBI published a scathing report proving he did shoot and murder cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of his movie, embattled actor Alec Baldwin was seen taking a leisurely stroll in the Hamptons.
Baldwin, 64, was seen on camera on Sunday strolling through the dunes near the lake while carrying what seemed to be a length of rope and a blue and red striped towel.
He was wearing a blue swimming suit and an unbuttoned black polo shirt.
He carried all of his possessions in his right arm, leaving his left arm free to show a brown Lokai bracelet.
He seemed rather unkempt, with grown-out hair and a scruffy beard.
The movie actor took off his leather shoes and dug his feet into the sand, seeming to be by himself and wandering the beach alone without his family.
This excursion marks the actor’s first public appearance since the FBI’s investigation in October 2021, which concluded that he pressed the trigger on a gun on the set of his movie “Rust” and discharged bullets that murdered Halyna Hutchins, 42, and wounded director Joel Souza.
After repeatedly denying that he had pulled the trigger on the pistol, which was intended to be loaded with fake rounds, Baldwin has not made any public statements since the disclosure.
According to Santa Fe, New Mexico police, they are now thinking about charging him with a crime.
As part of a larger investigation to see if any criminal charges may be filed, the FBI’s forensic report, which was published on Friday, looked at every facet of the tragic event.
Despite Baldwin’s persistent assertions, the single-action,.45 Colt calibre F.lli Pietta pistol could not have been discharged without someone pushing the trigger.
According to ABC News, they came at their judgement after completing an accidental discharge test, however it is unclear if this was done with the same pistol or a replica of it.
It claims that, contrary to Baldwin’s assertion, the pistol won’t discharge a bullet and primer simultaneously when it is functioning correctly.
The New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator (OMI) received the FBI reports right away and quickly transmitted them to the Sheriff’s Office, which received them on Wednesday.
According to police, Baldwin may now be charged with a crime for the shooting.
Authorities in Santa Fe have already said that they are holding off on filing any charges until they gain access to the actor’s phone records.
Detectives will analyse the documents once they get them, and the District Attorney will review the case file to decide whether or not charges should be filed.
Baldwin earlier said that when Halyna gave him instructions on how to hold the hammer, he drew it back and posed with it for the camera.
Baldwin said in conversations with investigators that he was informed he was in possession of a “cold gun,” which was a firearm loaded with fictitious ammunition.
Baldwin said, “I did not pull the trigger.” The actor claimed that he released it, and it shot without him doing so.
He earlier disclosed to the sheriff’s office that a package of fake bullets that had vanished on the day of the incident returned unexpectedly again.
The team returned to the box after the Hutchins accident and found that real shots had been mingled in with the fake rounds, he said.
Baldwin was determined that the armourer, Hannah Gutierrez, should be questioned about the box by the sheriff’s detectives.
However, the 24-year-old armourer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed has always asserted her innocence in public declarations.
She claimed to have been overworked on set and filed a complaint, alleging that a supplier of ammunition had put real ammunition in a crate that was intended to contain only fake rounds, so creating hazardous circumstances.
After Baldwin’s pretend pistol accidentally discharged a live bullet during a scene rehearsal, police also made multiple films of Baldwin being questioned about the event.
The videos were shot inside the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office in New Mexico.
He was shocked to see what seemed to be a live bullet shoot from his firearm and penetrate through director Joel Souza’s shoulder before hitting Hutchins in the armpit since he had just completed assuring the police that he did not pull the trigger.
Additionally, according to reports, Baldwin begged Sante Fe cops to question the rest of the team about the event and lamented the fact that he would miss out on work and would have to explain how he inadvertently murdered Hutchins to his children.
And a week after the incident, Baldwin called Detective Alexandra Hancock to inquire about a press conference and to find out if the sheriff had spoken with the film’s armourer about the bullets.
In a fit of rage, he begged the investigator to “indulge” him by inquiring about the box of ammunition, which he believed may explain how a live cartridge got into his rifle.
He also discussed having to break the news of the tragedy to his eight-year-old daughter Carmen during the interview with the investigator, describing how she “cried” as a result.
Baldwin said that as a consequence of the incident, he had been “fired” from the remainder of his projects for the year.
I must tell you some bad news. The investigator informed him that she did not survive.
He jerked back in his seat and exclaimed, “No!” before requesting permission to call his wife, Hilaria. Baldwin walked out of the room clutching his head.
A short while later, he was seen on camera sobbing as he spoke to Hilaria in the sheriff’s office parking lot.
Numerous text conversations and emails sent and received by Dave Halls, the film’s associate director, were also made public by the sheriff’s office.
These communications reveal how his close friends and confidantes alerted him to the fact that Baldwin’s PR machine was working overtime to try to pin the tragedy on him.
The AB PR staff is working overtime to try to shift the responsibility away from him on a worker bee who doesn’t have the resources or authority to fight any of it, according to a message sent to Halls by a friend called Julie Burris.
I believe you should carefully go through this matter with your lawyer since the two things that are now most crucial are ensuring that you are not facing any criminal charges and understanding what the sheriff’s office affidavit [sic] truly states.
After the fact, determine whether (or which) individuals and/or news sources you may file a libel, slander, or defamation lawsuit against.
Although no one has been prosecuted legally in connection with the shooting, the Hutchins family is suing Baldwin.
Baldwin and the other filmmakers “failed to execute industry standard safety checks and follow fundamental gun safety guidelines while utilising actual firearms to create the movie Rust, with devastating results,” according to the lawsuit.
Various legal lawsuits, including one from script supervisor Mamie Mitchell, have already been brought against the actor and other producers.
She asserts that she was the first person to contact 911 and was only a few steps away from Baldwin when he discharged the pistol.
Mitchell alleges that in addition to physical impairments, she also suffered mental harm.
Baldwin’s lawyers filed a motion to dismiss the case in January, arguing that the shooting was an accident at work.
Meanwhile, the film’s armourer Hannah Gutierrez Reed has filed her own lawsuit, claiming that a supplier of ammunition caused risk by putting real ammunition in a crate that was intended to contain only fake rounds.
Additionally, the primary medic for the production and the lead cameraman have both filed a lawsuit for emotional trauma.
The ‘Rust’ film production company has since been hit with the maximum fine of nearly $137,000 by New Mexico workplace safety regulators.
Rust Movie Productions was ordered to pay $136,793 by New Mexico’s Occupational Health and Safety Bureau, which also published a damning account of safety violations against accepted industry standards.
This included testimony that production managers did little or nothing to address two set misfires before the fatal shooting.
The bureau also kept track of crew members’ unheeded gun safety concerns and said that weapons experts were not permitted to decide on extra safety training.
Rust Movie Productions has said it would contest the judgement and conclusions.