Alec Baldwin describes "Rust" shooting in emotional interview: "I let go of the hammer of the gun, and the gun goes off"

Alec Baldwin provided new details about the moments before and after a gun discharged on the set of the film "Rust" in an emotional interview that aired Thursday night. The actor said he had no idea there was a live round in the gun, and said he didn't realize it had killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injured director Joel Souza until hours after the incident.

Baldwin told ABC News' George Stephanopoulos that in the moments before the shooting, he and Hutchins were going over camera angles for a scene involving a gun inside of the church on set, and Hutchins was instructing him to point the gun in the area of her armpit.

The actor reiterated that when he was handed the gun he was told it was cold. He said he was cocking the gun but not pulling the trigger as they rehearsed the scene.