Baldwin tells of prop gun death agony
ALEC Baldwin has said “there are no words to convey my shock and sadness” following the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the film Rust.
The actor, 63, confirmed he is “fully co-operating” with the police investigation after he fired a prop gun on the US set of the Western, killing Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza.
In a statement posted on his arts foundation’s social media account, Baldwin described the event as a “tragedy” and said he is in communication with Hutchins’ husband.
He said: “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.
“I’m fully co-operating 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.”
Rust’s director of photography Hutchins was killed during the incident on Thursday, officials in Santa Fe, New Mexico, previously confirmed.
The 42-year-old was airlifted to University of New Mexico Hospital but she was pronounced dead.
Actress Frances Fisher, who stars in the film, said yesterday that director
Souza, 48, had been discharged from hospital.
“Director Joel Souza told me he’s out of hospital,” she wrote on Twitter.
Photographs published by The Santa Fe New Mexican newspaper show an emotional Baldwin doubled over and apparently in tears outside the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office.
Hutchins was director of photography on the 2020 action film Archenemy, starring Joe Manganiello.
A 2015 graduate of the American Film Institute, she was named a “rising star” by American Cinematographer in 2019.
“I’m so sad about losing Halyna. And so infuriated that this could happen on a set,” said Archenemy director Adam Egypt Mortimer on Twitter. She was a brilliant talent who was absolutely committed to art and to film.”
Shannon Lee, the sister of late actor Brandon Lee, has said “no-one should ever be killed by a gun on a film set” following the incident.
Lee, 28, the son of martial arts superstar Bruce Lee, was killed in 1993 after he was shot on the set of the film The Crow. The gun was supposed to have fired a blank, but a post-mortem examination found a .44-calibre bullet lodged near his spine.