After the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins while shooting a film with Hollywood star Alec Baldwin, an assistant director in focus made public statements for the first time.

"I am shocked and saddened by her death," he wrote in a statement published on Monday (local time) by the tabloid "New York Post".

"Not only was Halyna Hutchins one of the most talented people I've worked with, she was also a friend."

In the incident during the filming of the western "Rust" on a film ranch in Santa Fe, New Mexico, chief camerawoman Hutchins (42) was fatally injured on October 21 and director Joel Souza (48) was hit in the shoulder. Baldwin (63), who is the main actor and producer in the film, had fired the gun during the rehearsal for a scene. Initial investigations revealed that there was a real bullet in the Colt.

The Los Angeles Times newspaper published details of the incident after talks with a dozen crew members.

After the fatal shot was fired, Baldwin exclaimed: “What the hell just happened?” He really only wanted to show the cameraman and director how he would pull an unloaded gun and pull the trigger in a scene.

The projectile from the live pistol pierced Hutchins' body, then struck Souza in the shoulder.

According to an eyewitness, when she was bleeding on the floor, Hutchins said, “That wasn't good.

That wasn't good at all. "

Set employees complain about previous incidents

According to the LA Times research, there had been concerns about safety and also skepticism about the relatively inexperienced gunsmith on the set. A member of the film crew told the newspaper that prior to the fatal incident, guns with blank cartridges went off at least three more times when they should have been unloaded. The fact that there was no doctor on set during parts of the production was also cause for concern.

According to a police report, the assistant director was the one who handed Baldwin the gun that was said to have been the subject of the fatal shot.

Accordingly, he shouted "cold gun" when he gave it to Baldwin - to signal the actor that there was no live ammunition in the pistol.

According to the report, the assistant admitted in a questioning that he had not strictly followed the safety precautions and only incompletely checked the weapon.

The assistant director's lawyer told Fox News, however, that it was not clear that it was actually Baldwin who gave the gun to Baldwin.

It was not his job to check them either.

"That is not his responsibility." The weapon master brought the pistol to the set.

The 24-year-old had previously denied allegations of negligence on the set: she had “no idea” where the live ammunition came from, she told her lawyers.

In the “New York Post” the assistant director called on the film industry to rethink: “I hope that this tragedy will cause the industry to rethink their values ​​and practices to ensure that no one is harmed again during a creative process comes. ”What exactly he meant by that, he didn't say.

Baldwin had to take criticism again over Halloween for uploading a photo of himself and his family in disguise on Instagram.

He wrote: "Being a parent in this situation was difficult." In the social networks, he was accused of dealing with the incident on his set "inappropriately and in bad taste".

The picture has now disappeared from his account.