Actor Alec Baldwin has been involved in a tragic accident on the New Mexico set of his latest film Rust. The star reportedly fired a prop gun, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza.
Authorities in New Mexico have confirmed the news, following reports of an incident on set on Thursday. The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s office said in a statement: “The sheriff’s office confirms that two individuals were shot on the set of Rust.”
“Halyna Hutchins, 42, director of photography, and Joel Souza, 48, director, were shot when a prop firearm was discharged by Alec Baldwin, 68, producer, and actor.”
Hutchins was pronounced dead due to her injuries after being airlifted to the University of New Mexico Hospital.
Souza was taken by ambulance and is “undergoing treatment for his injuries” at Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center.
Juan Rios, from the Sheriff’s Office, told The Guardian: “Mr Baldwin came in voluntarily to speak with investigators and after speaking with them he left.”
According to police, the investigation remains open and active. No charges have been filed in regard to this incident. Production has temporarily shut down on the Western film.
This is not the first incident of its nature to happen on a film set. In 1993 Bruce Lee’s son, Brandon Lee, was tragically killed on the set of his film The Crow. The gun was loaded with improperly-made dummy rounds so that the close-up shots would show regular-looking bullets.
Between takes the gun had reportedly not been checked and cleaned properly. In the scene where Brandon was to be shot, the gun was supposed to shoot out a blank but an autopsy revealed a real bullet had hit the actor.
Australian actor and Crazy Rich Asians star Remy Hii shared his own story today in the wake of the news, revealing he was “close” to a similar incident once.
“I still have a small scar from shrapnel from a prop gun that was fired on set. They are no joke. I was lucky, this is an absolute tragedy,” he wrote.
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