Alec Baldwin spotted lying low with wife Hilaria & kids in Vermont after leaving NYC home following deadly Rust shooting
ALEC Baldwin has been spotted with his family in a quiet New England town as the 63-year-old actor attempts to keep a low profile amid a police investigation into his deadly on-set shooting of a cinematographer.
A sullen-looking Baldwin was spotted on Sunday in Manchester Center, a small town in Vermont, collecting take-out food from a pizza shop alongside his wife Hilaria, 37, their six children, and their nanny.
Dressed in all black, Baldwin appeared somber with his head down in the photos as he clutched two bags of food.
The sighting came just days after he fatally pulled the trigger of a prop gun on the set of Rust in New Mexico last Thursday that’s believed to have been loaded with a live round.
The bullet struck and killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. The 42-year-old was shot in the stomach.
Also hit was the movie’s director, Joel Souza, who was hospitalized with a wound to his shoulder but later discharged.
LYING LOW
The circumstances surrounding the shooting remain under investigation, but the tragic incident reportedly unfolded as Baldwin was practicing a “cross-draw” during rehearsal.
Baldwin previously revealed that he was “fully cooperating” with the police investigation into the shooting and had been in contact with Hutchins’ family.
However, on Wednesday, deputies in New Mexico said they “didn’t know” his current whereabouts.
Hilaria was pictured fleeing the Baldwins’ Manhattan townhouse with the couple’s children and pets on Friday, the day after the shooting.
She has deep ties to New England, having admitted during her infamous heritage scandal that she wasn’t in fact Spanish, rather a “white girl” from Boston.
During a press conference on Wednesday, Santa Fe Sheriff Adan Mendoza refused to rule out charges against Baldwin, confirming that he is an “active part of this investigation.”
He confirmed that the 30 Rock star is cooperating with investigators and was not required to stay in New Mexico as part of their probe.
Mendoza told Good Morning America on Thursday that he is still unable to determine who brought live ammunition onto the set of Baldwin’s forthcoming movie Rust, which he is also producing.
“As far as we understand, live rounds should not be on set,” he said. “The key questions we’re focusing on is how the live rounds ended up on set, who brought them on set and why they brought them on set.
We’ve got some initial statements. There were close to 100 people total on-set. Interviews are continuing.”
WEAPON ‘NOT CHECKED’
Baldwin was handed the loaded revolver by Assistant Director Dave Halls, who reportedly yelled out the gun was “cold” – or unloaded – before passing it to him.
Halls later admitted to investigators that he didn’t properly check the weapon, only inspecting three of its five chambers before giving it to Baldwin.
Read our Alec Baldwin shooting live blog for the very latest news and updates…
Most read in The Sun
The shock admission was made public in the unsealing of a Sante Fe County Sheriff’s department search warrant, which also included details of investigators’ discussions with Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, 24, the movies’ head armorer.
Halls said that Reed passed him the gun. He said she would usually “spin the drum” to show him the ammo before he would declare it safe.
However, he told cops that he “couldn’t remember” whether she did so in the moments before last Thursday’s shooting.
Halls said that he could only remember seeing three dummy bullets in the chamber, which he says could be identified by a hole in the side of the cartridge.
Reed, meanwhile, told investigators she had checked the gun and insisted there were never “any live rounds” on set.
But police recovered more than 500 rounds of ammunition while executing a search warrant on Wednesday, including an undisclosed number of live rounds, Mendoza said.
INVESTIGATION CONTINUES
Investigators also believe they have recovered the “lead projectile” and shell casing from the ammunition that struck and killed Hutchins and injured Souza.
Mendoza said that further investigation is still needed to determine how Gutierrez and Halls did not know there was ammunition in the gun.
The sheriff urged anyone who is aware of safety concerns on the set of Rust or those who had issues working with Halls and Gutierrez previously to immediately contact his department.
Baldwin last week was said to be “inconsolable” over Hutchins’ death.
He released a statement on Friday revealing his heartbreak over the tragic incident.
“There are no words to convey my shock and sadness regarding the tragic accident that took the life of Halyna Hutchins, a wife, mother, and deeply admired colleague of ours,” Baldwin said.
Hilaria also shared a message about her shock and “heartbreak”.
“My heart is with Halyna,” she wrote on Instagram. “Her husband. Her son. Their family and loved ones. And my Alec.”
More to follow…
For the latest news on this story keep checking back at Sun Online.
The-sun.com is your go-to destination for the best celebrity news, sport news, real-life stories, jaw-dropping pictures and must-see video.
Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TheSunUS and follow us from our main Twitter account at @TheUSSun.