Alec Baldwin’s wife, Hilaria Baldwin is concerned that her husband may develop PTSD after the Oct. 21 accidental shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins while making his movie Rust in New Mexico. Baldwin discharged a gun he was told was safe to use, but it was loaded and the projectile struck Hutchins and director Joel Souza. Hutchins later died, while Souza was released a short time after he was treated at a nearby hospital. Baldwin and his family have been spending time in Manchester, Vermont, where Baldwin spoke to reporters on Saturday. Hilaria also spoke with the New York Post separately later that day.
“I brought [Alec] up here because we have to mourn Halyna’s death,” Hilaria told the Post. “Alec had a really traumatic thing happen, and I am trying to limit the PTSD. You look at what happens to soldiers and police officers when something like this happens, it’s traumatic. We just came up here for quiet.”
Videos by PopCulture.com
When asked if Baldwin would ever act again, Hilaria couldn’t say. “He needs space for me to take care of him and his mental health,” she told the Post. “It’s an awful thing that happened. Alec feels awful.” Like her husband, Hilaria didn’t want to comment on the specifics of the shooting while the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office investigation continues. “We don’t know what happened, and we have the same questions as everyone does. We want answers faster than anyone. We have to have respect for the process of the authorities,” Hilaria said. “Alec has done movies with guns for 40 years. Nothing like this has ever happened. There should be zero probability of that ever happening.”
This wasn’t the first time Hilaria commented on the tragedy. On Oct. 25, she posted a statement on her Instagram page while Baldwin was with Hutchins’ family. “It’s said ‘There are no words’ because it’s impossible to express the shock and heartache of such a tragic accident, heartbreak, loss, support,” she wrote. On Saturday, Hilaria also published a photo of her and Baldwin’s hands locked, adding, “I love you and I’m here.”
Before Hilaria spoke with the Post on Saturday, Baldwin made his first on-camera comments since the shooting after paparazzi tracked him down in Vermont. He said he doubted Rust would ever be completed and said he was “extremely interested” in the new discussion on limiting firearms on movie sets. He also voted to continue cooperating and called Hutchins a friend. “We were a very, very well-oiled crew shooting a film together, and then this horrible event happened,” the actor, who was also a producer on the project, said. “There are incidental accidents on film sets from time to time, but nothing like this. This is a once-in-a-trillion episode. It’s a one in a trillion event.”
Last week, a source told PEOPLEย Baldwin was planning to cancel his next projects due to the shooting. The source said Baldwin was “hysterical and absolutely inconsolable for hours” after the shooting. However, another source told the Los Angeles Times Baldwin hasn’t canceled his other projects, it’s just not clear what his next plans are. He made a pilot for ABC with Kelsey Grammer earlier this year, but the network passed on the project.ย
