Alec Baldwin accidentally shoots and kills cinematographer, 42, with a PROP GUN and wounds film’s director in tragic mishap on New Mexico set of his new western movie Rust
- Director of Photography Halyna Hutchins, 42, was fatally struck in the incident on set in Santa Fe on Thursday
- Police confirmed that Alec Baldwin fired the prop gun in a mishap while shooting a scene for the movie
- Writer-director Joel Souza, 48, was also struck and injured in bizarre incident but is expected to survive
- Filming was halted on the set in Santa Fe after fatal incident and production of Rust has been halted
Alec Baldwin has shot and killed a cinematographer on the set of the upcoming Western movie Rust, after a prop firearm he was using in a scene discharged in a tragic accident.
Director of Photography Halyna Hutchins, 42, was fatally struck in the incident on Thursday at the Bonanza Creek Ranch movie set in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where writer-director Joel Souza, 48, was also injured.
Baldwin, 68, was confirmed as the individual who fired the prop gun, which somehow unintentionally launched a projectile or projectiles at the crew members, in a statement from the Santa Fe Sheriff’s Office.
The actor was seen in tears outside the sheriff’s office following the tragic death, according to the Santa Fe New Mexican.
It was not immediately clear whether the prop gun was somehow loaded with real bullets, or if the gunpowder used in theatrical blank cartridges may have launched debris of some kind from the barrel.
No criminal charges have been filed, but police said that a criminal investigation into the incident is currently active to determine the circumstances of Hutchins’ death.
‘According to investigators, it appears that the scene being filmed involved the use of a prop firearm when it was discharged,’ sheriff’s spokesman Juan Rios said in a statement. ‘Detectives are investigating how and what type of projectile was discharged.’
‘The incident remains an active investigation. As more information becomes available, updates will be provided,’ he added.
Representatives for Baldwin, Souza, and Rust’s executive producer did not immediately respond to inquiries from DailyMail.com late on Thursday.
Hutchins’ devastated friends were too distraught to talk, but Ariel Vida, a production designer who worked with the director of photography on 2020 film Archenemy confirmed her death to DailyMail.com, tearfully adding: ‘I’m sorry, I can’t talk about this right now.’
Filming for Rust was set to continue into early November, according to a news release from the New Mexico Film Office, but production has now been halted on the film.
The movie is about a 13-year-old boy who is left to fend for himself and his younger brother following the death of their parents in 1880s Kansas, according to a synopsis. The teen goes on the run with his long-estranged grandfather (played by Baldwin) after the boy is sentenced to hang for the accidental killing of a local rancher.
In 1993, Brandon Lee, 28, son of the late martial-arts star Bruce Lee, died after being hit by a .44-caliber slug while filming a death scene for the movie “The Crow.´´ The gun was supposed to have fired a blank, but an autopsy turned up a bullet lodged near his spine.
In 1984, actor Jon-Erik Hexum died after shooting himself in the head with a prop gun blank while pretending to play Russian roulette with a .44 Magnum on the set of the television series ´´Cover Up.´´
Friends took to Hutchins’ Instagram page to leave tributes underneath a video filmed two days ago that showed her riding a horse on her day off.
James Cullen wrote: ‘I will miss you my friend. This is devastating.’
Another friend Jack Caswell added: ‘I feel like I’ve had the wind knocked out of me. You will be so missed’ while Tina Presley Borek said: ‘Heartbroken.’
Hutchins, who lived in Venice Beach, California, was considered one of Hollywood’s rising stars – named in a list of cinematographers to watch in 2019 by American Cinematographer.
The daughter of a soldier, Hutchins grew up on a Soviet military base in the Arctic Circle before going to college in Ukrainian capital Kiev.
She later moved first to the U.K. to work on documentary filmmaking before traveling to LA to study for a master’s degree in cinematography and switching to movies.
Her credits include horror film Darlin and, shortly before starting work on Rust, she had completed filming on Blindfire – a crime drama starring Brian Geraghty and Sharon Leal.
The Santa Fe Sheriff’s Office says it responded to the movie set at around 1.50pm after a 911 caller indicated someone had been shot in the arm.
‘According to investigators, it appears that the scene being filmed involved the use of a prop firearm when it was discharged,’ the sheriff’s office said in a statement.
‘Detectives are investigating how and what type of projectile was discharged,’ the statement added.
Police said that a 42-year-old female was airlifted to University of New Mexico Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
A 42-year-old man was rushed by ambulance to Cristus St. Vincent’s Hospital where he is being treated for injuries, and is expected to survive.
‘There was an accident today on the New Mexico set of Rust involving the misfire of a prop gun with blanks,’ read a statement from Rust Movie Productions LLC.
‘Two crew members have been taken to the hospital and are receiving care. Production has been halted for the time being. The safety of our cast and crew remains our top priority,’ the statement concluded.
The Santa Fe Sheriff’s Department confirmed to Deadline that the incident was being investigated, with criminal investigators on the scene.
There is no indication that there was any criminal activity involving the incident, given the production company’s statement.