The Times - UK - 04.12.2021

16 Saturday December 4 2021 | the times

News

Alec Baldwin said he was confident that
he would not face criminal charges over
the fatal shooting of a cinematographer
as he described the moments leading
up to the gun going off.
The actor, 63, gave his first TV inter-
view following the death of Halyna
Hutchins on the set of the low-budget
western film Rust in New Mexico. He
said that he did not pull the trigger
before the revolver was discharged.
Baldwin said the bullet fired after he
pulled back the hammer at the instruct-
ion of Hutchins and let it go. He had
been told that the gun was safe and had
no idea how a live round came to be
there. Speaking to ABC News, he said
that Hutchins, a 42-year-old Ukrainian
seen as a rising star in Hollywood, was
setting up a scene during rehearsals in
a wooden church on October 21 and
had told him to point the gun in her
direction “right below her armpit”.
Baldwin said that Hutchins asked
him to pull back the hammer. “I let go of
the hammer and the gun goes off,”
Baldwin told ABC’s George Stephano-
poulos. “I never pulled the trigger.”

mauled, her hip dislocated and her

right foot was left hanging loose.”

Amelie is a former pupil at St Swith-

un’s School in Winchester. She took her

A-levels at a state school in Hampshire

and lives with her mother, Veronika

von Pfetten-Arnbach, 52, a German

baroness, in Charlton near Andover.

Osborn-Smith, 60, an osteopath and

former army major, praised rescuers

for their first aid and noted that the boat

crew was amazed that Amelie “didn’t

even shed a tear”. She was initially

taken by helicopter to Livingstone and

then later on to the capital, Lusaka.

Osborn-Smith said: “Infection was

treated aggressively and after several

very professional initial surgical proce-

dures, we are extremely relieved to

hear that her foot has been wonderfully

saved. Arrangements are now in place

to have her transferred to specialist care

and definitive treatment at a major

teaching hospital in London. Amelie

remains traumatised and heavily

sedated but we will know more about

her ultimate progress in the coming

days.” He added that his daughter was

“extremely grateful to be alive”.

Her trip had been organised by

Bundu Adventures, whose website says

that “safety always comes first” on its

“adrenaline-filled” adventure activities.

T

he energy

regulator has

announced a

review into the

handling of

Storm Arwen, with more

than 10,000 homes still

without power more a

week later (Emma

Yeomans writes). To

compensate residents

the cap on

compensation has been

lifted so households can

claim £140 for every day

they are without power.

One couple in

Northumberland

accused Northern

Powergrid of “fobbing

off ” residents. After his

home lost power at

7.50pm on Friday last

week, Stewart Sexton,

57, said he and his

partner had been

without heating, hot

water, lighting or any

means of

communication.

“No one gives a toss

about us in

Northumberland... first

contact from Northern

Powergrid was

Thursday, day six,” he

said. “They gave no info

except praising

themselves and saying

we can claim some

expenses if we have

receipts... after six days

with candles, some

takeaways, extra logs for

wood burner, I have no

receipts. Who would?

“Every day this week

they say it will be on

tomorrow... but it’s not,

it’s a generic fob-off.”

Others said they were

getting sick from the

cold. One man in

Co Durham said he was

using his dog as a hot

water bottle to keep

warm.

“Everyone is getting

ill,” Jessica Teasdale, 35,

from Stanley, said. “I

saw my elderly

neighbour yesterday, the

poor man looked like he

was going to cry. No one

has checked on him and

he lives alone.”

Ofgem said yesterday

that it would publish

terms of reference for

the review on Monday,

and could pursue

enforcement against

power companies if

necessary. The regulator

has sent engineers to

affected areas of the

northeast, where welfare

centres are providing

hot food and respite.

Jonathan Brearley,

Ofgem’s chief executive,

said a “relentless effort”

was needed until every

home had power.

He said: “We are

launching a review into

how the storm has been

handled. We have strict

rules on how network

companies need to

operate and we will take

action if needed.”

Week on from Arwen,

10,000 without power

Glencoe looked beautiful

yesterday but many

homes were still cut off.

The army helped out in

Durham while Jim Muir

from Maud, Aberdeenshire,

relied on a traditional fire

BOBBY HUGHES/CATERS NEWS; DANNY LAWSON; JANE BARLOW/PA

Guides ‘urged my daughter

to swim in crocodile river’

David Brown

Baldwin: I didn’t pull the

trigger — it’s not my fault

After Stephanopoulos pointed out that

some experts said actors should never

point a gun at anyone on set, Baldwin

said: “Unless the person is the cinema-

tographer who’s directing me at where

to point the gun for her camera angle.”

Hutchins was airlifted to a hospital in

Albuquerque where she was pro-

nounced dead. Joel Souza, the director

of Rust, was also wounded but survived.

Baldwin revealed that he had no

concerns over safety on the production

and that the question of who brought

live ammunition on to the set was key.

The investigation by Santa Fe county

sheriff’s office could take months. Offi-

cers have previously said that about

500 rounds of ammunition were found

on the set, a mixture of blanks, dum-

mies and suspected live rounds.

“Someone is responsible for what

happened,” Baldwin said. “And I can’t

say who that is, but I know it’s not me.”

He had been “told by people who are in

the know” that it was “highly unlikely”

that he would face criminal charges.

Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, a 24-year-

old novice, was the armourer on the set

and was one of two people who handled

the weapon before Baldwin. The other,

the assistant director David Halls, de-

clared “cold gun” to signal that the fire-

arm was safe before giving it to the actor.

Baldwin, who cried during the inter-

view, said that he does not believe that

the death of Hutchins could have been

the result of sabotage, as had been sug-

gested by Gutierrez-Reed’s lawyer.

Baldwin has been named in two civil

lawsuits from crew members of Rust.

He questioned why they had filed

lawsuits before Hutchins’s husband. He

also responded to comments by George

Clooney, who said that he checked a

gun every time he handled one on set.

“There were a lot of people who felt it

necessary to contribute some comment

to the situation, which really didn’t help

the situation,” he said. “If your protocol

is you checking the gun every time,

well, good for you. Good for you.”

Keiran Southern

The father of a British gap-year student

who was attacked by a crocodile during

a boat trip in Zambia has said she had

been encouraged by guides to “have a

quick dip”.

Brent Osborn-Smith, giving the

first detailed account of the incident,

described how Amelie, 18, was on the

Zambezi river downstream of the

Victoria Falls when she was attacked at

1.30pm on Tuesday.

“Having finished rafting, the group

stopped for lunch in a quiet stretch,

between rapids 13 and 14,” he said.

“They were encouraged by the guides

to have a quick dip over the side, to cool

off after their exertions, as this area was

deemed to be ‘safe’. The craft was not

moving through the water at the time.

“When returning to the boat, Amelie

was bitten on the leg by a large

crocodile, which attempted to drag her

down into a characteristic ‘death roll’ in

order to subdue its prey. Amelie fought

back with great courage and refused to

be subdued or taken under.

“Due to the quick thinking and inter-

vention of all those on board, the rep-

tile’s attack was repulsed and Amelie

was then brought quickly back on to the

boat. Her lower leg had been badly

Alec Baldwin cried

in the interview

with ABC’s George

Stephanopoulos