Hollywood veteran actor, Alec Baldwin accidentally shot dead a film crew after he fired a demonstration gun on the set of the Western film Rust being shot in New Mexico on Thursday local time. He killed a film cinematographer and injured the film’s director, authorities said.
Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, 42, was killed, and director, Joel Souza, 48, was injured on the set of “Rust,” which was being filmed in Santa Fe County, said Juan Rios, a spokesman for the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office. The circumstances of the shooting are currently being investigated by authorities.
Rios said the shooting at Bonanza Creek Ranch took place in the middle of a scene being filmed or also while rehearsing for the scene. He said the Sheriff’s Office was interviewing people on set to determine how the two were shot.
Hutchins was immediately flown to the University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque, where he later died. While Souza was taken to Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center in Santa Fe. However, Sauza’s condition is currently uncertain.
To date, the film’s producers and representatives of Mr. Baldwin has yet to give an official statement regarding this tragic event. In a statement, John Lindley, national president of the International Union of Cinematographers, and Rebecca Rhine, the organization’s national executive director, called Halyna Hutchins’ death “devastating news.”
Rust is a film about a 13 year old boy who runs away with his grandfather after the accidental murder of a local rancher. The film is set to be filmed this month and next month, directed by Joel Souza and starring Frances Fisher and Alec Baldwin, who also produced the film.
