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Watch emotional preview of Alec Baldwin's first sit-down interview since 'Rust' tragedy

By Megan Armstrong | Last updated 12/1/21

Alec Baldwin first broke his silence one day after cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed and director Joel Souza was injured by a bullet from a prop gun in Baldwin's hands on the New Mexico set of Rust, an indie Western film, on Oct. 21.

"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, 63, tweeted on Oct. 22. "I'm fully cooperating with the police investigation to address how this tragedy occurred and I am in touch with her husband, offering my support to him and his family. My heart is broken for her husband, their son, and all who knew and loved Halyna."

Over a month later, the actor sat down with George Stephanopoulos to unravel how things went so terribly wrong. ABC News shared a nearly two-minute preview clip Wednesday (Dec. 1):

Asked by @GStephanopoulos how a real bullet got on the "Rust" set, Alec Baldwin says: “I have no idea. Someone put a live bullet in a gun. A bullet that wasn’t even supposed to be on the property.”

Watch TOMORROW 8pm ET on ABC and stream later on @hulu. https://t.co/fJQly1za1T pic.twitter.com/OnpDuYERiC
— ABC News (@ABC) December 1, 2021

Baldwin gets visibly emotional, saying "it doesn't seem real."

"The trigger wasn't pulled. I didn't pull the trigger," Baldwin tells Stephanopoulos, after Stephanopoulos points out that it wasn't in the script for the trigger of the prop gun to be pulled. "I would never point a gun at anyone and pull a trigger at them. Never."

When asked how a "real bullet" made it on the Rust set in the first place, Baldwin says, "I have no idea. Someone put a live bullet in a gun, a bullet that wasn't even supposed to be on the property."

The one-time Oscar nominee also answers with an emphatic "yes" when Stephanopoulos asks if this is the worst thing that has ever happened to him. "Because I think back, and I think of, what could I have done?"

The full Alec Baldwin Unscripted special will air beginning at 8 p.m. EST on ABC Thursday (Dec. 2).

Most recently, on Tuesday (Nov. 30), "a judge granted a search warrant for detectives to seize documents, ammunition and other objects from PDQ Arm & Prop, a company that provided ammunition for the film," as relayed by USA Today, as new details emerged about how a live round could have ended up on the Rust set.

The Sante Fe County Sheriff's Office is still investigating the fatal tragedy. For more information, read this Oct. 25 affidavit or this timeline.

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