Alec Baldwin shooting: Actor’s daughter defends father as sheriff confirms no-one cleared in probe

Joel Souza, the Rust director injured during the on set shooting has been seen in public for the first time.

Mr Souza was photographed sitting in a car with his hand covering his face while driving through Palo Alto in California.

The 48-year-old director was wounded but released from hospital following the incident.

Ireland Baldwin has issued another defence of her father, Alec Baldwin, following the fatal shooting.

The 26-year-old posted a screenshot of a positive comment about him on her Instagram.

The comment came from someone who identified themselves as working with the same production company that made the 1999 film Thomas and the Magic Railroad, starring Baldwin as Mr Conductor.

The comment said: “I’d dealt with typing up some pretty goofy celebrity riders in my day but NOT your dad.”

Here is the story:

The New Mexico police officer investigating the shooting on the set of Rust has said he is “not exactly sure of [Alec Baldwin’s] present whereabouts”.

While Santa Fe sheriff Adan Mendoza said he didn’t know the exact location of the 63-year-old actor, Baldwin is said to be cooperating with authorities and had not been instructed to remain in New Mexico.

The film’s producers have hired the law firm Jenner & Block to investigate the shooting. They have said the lawyers “will have full discretion about who to interview and any conclusions they draw”.

US media reports suggest Alec Baldwin has left New Mexico, where the shooting took place, and has travelled to New England to spend time with his family.

TMZ obtained photos of Baldwin with members of his family in what the site described as an “off-the-beaten-path location”.

Baldwin is said to be cooperating fully with detectives, and the actor had not been asked to remain in New Mexico, reports said.

Police looking into the shooting on the set of Alec Baldwin’s film Rust have confirmed that the actor fired a “real bullet” from the gun that shot and killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, and are investigating rumours of on-set “target practice” using live ammunition.

Hutchins was killed after being shot in the chest when Mr Baldwin fired what should be have been a prop gun. The bullet that killed Hutchins also struck director Joel Souza in the shoulder, leaving him in need of hospital treatment.

Harriet Sinclair reports.

Speaking on NBC’s Today show, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza confirmed that the assistant director and armourer are the focus of the investigation, but three people held the gun before the incident, so no one has been cleared.

Digital effects have helped Sandra Bullock hurtle through space, a sports car hurtle between skyscrapers and even Robert De Niro hurtle back to the age of 30.

But can it make a character fire a gun?

The question of whether digital effects could substitute for a gun firing on a TV or film set has been circulating in political and entertainment realms since the Alec Baldwin incident on Rust, in which the actor unknowingly discharged a live weapon that was handed to him, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.

Several creators vowed to stop using use live weapons on set, 60,000 people signed a petition supporting such a move and a California state senator said he would introduce a bill to ban the firearms.

Steven Zeitchik reports.

Alec Baldwin on Wednesday retweeted an article on the fatal shooting on the set of Rust that claimed an assistant director told investigators he should have inspected the gun he handed to the actor more closely.

A New York Times article cited an affidavit that said Dave Halls, an assistant director on the film, told a detective that he should have inspected each round in each chamber of a gun he had handed to Mr Baldwin.

He had declared the gun to be “cold,” referring to an industry term that means that the weapon is not loaded with ammunition.

Earlier the 63-year-old actor had retweeted a Variety article, citing the affidavit, that said he was told the gun he was handed was safe.

Alisha Rahaman Sarkar reports.

The incident has triggered widespread debate on the use of firearms on film sets, and whether they should be permanently replaced with rubber and airsoft guns instead.

The use of guns on set is strictly controlled, with a prop master or a licensed armourer responsible for handling all weapons, including loading blanks. Productions are also often required to install shields, made from materials such as perspex, to protect cast and crew.

Nearly a week after the fatal shooting on the set of the film Rust, several key questions remain unanswered, including who loaded Alec Baldwin’s gun, who could face charges over the incident, and what changes it could prompt in the movie industry.

Megan Sheets reports.