Film Director Who Was Shot by Alec Baldwin Says It Felt Like Being Hit by a Baseball Bat

Film Director Who Was Shot by Alec Baldwin Says It Felt Like Being Hit by a Baseball Bat
Director Joel Souza testifies in the trial against Hannah Gutierrez-Reed in state district court in Santa Fe, N.M., on March 1, 2024. Eddie Moore/Albuquerque Journal via AP, Pool
The Associated Press
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SANTA FE, N.M.—A movie director who was shot by Alec Baldwin during a movie rehearsal—and survived—testified Friday at trial that he was approaching the cinematographer when he heard a loud bang and felt the bullet’s impact.

“It felt like someone had taken a baseball bat to my shoulder,” said Joel Souza, who was wounded by the same bullet that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the New Mexico set for the upcoming Western movie “Rust” on Oct. 21, 2021.