Baldwin prop gun tragedy
HOLLYWOOD is in shock after actor Alec Baldwin fired a prop gun that killed a cinematographer and wounded his director on the set of his latest film.
The 63-year-old star was reportedly seen in tears outside the Santa Fe sheriff’s office after the tragedy during filming of the western movie Rust in New Mexico.
Halyna Hutchins, 42, a Ukraine-born cinematographer, died after being hit by the prop gun. Director Joel Souza, 48, is in hospital.
The Santa Fe County sheriff confirmed in a statement that Hutchins and Souza were “shot when a prop firearm was discharged by Alec Baldwin”.
Hutchins was taken by helicopter to the University of New Mexico Hospital, where she died.
Souza was taken by ambulance to Christus St Vincent Regional Medical Centre in Santa Fe, where he is being treated, according to the sheriff’s office.
No charges have been filed over the incident, which is being investigated by police.
“The Santa Fe County sheriff’s office confirms that two individuals were shot during filming of a scene on the set of the movie western Rust,” the office said. “According to investigators it appears that the scene being filmed involved the use of a prop firearm when it was discharged. Detectives are investigating how and what type of projectile was discharged.”
Before the incident, Baldwin
posted a photo of himself dressed in western wear from the set.
“Back to in person at the office,” Baldwin wrote on social media. “Blimey … it’s exhausting.”
The International Cinematographers Guild Local 600 paid tribute to Hutchins after her death was confirmed.
“The details are unclear at this moment, but we are working to learn more, and we support a full investigation into this tragic event,” guild president John Lindley and executive director Rebecca Rhine said in a statement.
Baldwin’s film location at Bonanza Creek Ranch in Sante Fe was sent into lockdown and production was stopped.
A production spokesman said it was an “accident”. “There was an accident today on the New Mexico set of Rust involving the misfire of a prop gun with blanks,” the spokesman told Deadline.
According to TMZ, sources said either shrapnel or a bullet struck Hutchins and Souza. Baldwin was not injured in the tragic incident.