Alec Baldwin addresses fatal film set shooting

Alec Baldwin addressed questions about the fatal film set shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, whom he called a friend, for the first time on Saturday after paparazzi tracked him to Manchester in the US state of Vermont, American gossip site TMZ reported.

While the roadside exchange was tense, it was also polite. Baldwin said repeatedly he could not address the investigation but added that he was in daily contact with the Santa Fe sheriff's office.

"I can't answer any questions about the investigation, I can't. It's an active investigation. A woman died. She was my friend," said Baldwin.

At one point in the exchange, one of the interlocutors could not recall the name of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins whom Baldwin accidentally fatally shot on the set of Rust on October 22.

Baldwin's wife Hilaria, cellphone in hand filming the converged paparazzi, interjected. "Her name was Halyna. If you are spending this much time waiting for us, you should know her name," she said.

In 'constant contact' with widower, son

While Baldwin would not address the specifics of the investigation, he did indicate he was supportive of reexamining the use of firearms on film sets.

He said what happened on the Rust set was "a one in a trillion event."

Baldwin said he met with Hutchins' widower Matthew. "The guy is overwhelmed with grief," he noted. "He is in shock, he has a 9-year-old son."

Welcomes new safety protocols on film sets

While acknowledging he is "not an expert" in firearm safety in cinema, Baldwin welcomed the conversation about additional gun safety protocols on film sets.

"What has to happen now is that when it does go wrong and it is this horrible catastrophic thing, some new measures have to take place, rubber guns, plastic guns, no live, real armaments," Baldwin told the assembled paparazzi. "That's not for me to decide."

"Whatever other people decide is the best way to go in terms of protecting people's safety on film sets, I am all in favor of it, I will cooperate with that in any way that I can."

Neither Baldwin nor his wife would address questions about why the family was in Vermont, calling that "private." He did not respond to a question regarding any other projects he is working on, responding that it is "irrelevant to what we are talking about."

Baldwin said he was motivated to talk given the aggressiveness of the paparazzi and the fact his kids were "in the car crying," as he concluded by pleading for privacy. TMZ described Baldwin as "absolutely torn up" from the incident.