Alec Baldwin accidentally discharged a prop gun on Rust set, killing cinematographer, injuring director
One person was killed and another was wounded after Alec Baldwin’s prop firearm discharged on the set of the movie Rust on Thursday (Oct. 21, 2021), according to the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s office. Baldwin is starring in and co-producing the Western film.
UPDATE: The local IATSE union said Alec Baldwin “accidentally” fired “a live single round” on the set of the film Rust, according to an email obtained by IndieWire. The round struck and killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injured director Joel Souza.
Alec Baldwin has made his first public comment since the tragic prop gun accident.
In a statement posted to social media, Baldwin wrote, “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 cooperating 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,” Baldwin added. “My heart is broken for her husband, their son, and all who knew and loved Halyna.”
“The sheriff’s office confirms that two individuals were shot on the set of Rust,” the sheriff’s office said in a press release late Thursday. “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 transported to the University of New Mexico Hospital via helicopter where she died of her injuries. Souza was taken to Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center and was being treated for his injuries, the sheriff’s office said.
Souza is now out of the hospital, according to the filmmaker’s reps.
“Mr. Baldwin was questioned by investigators and released,” a Santa Fe Sheriff’s Department official told Deadline. “No arrests or charges have been filed.”
BREAKING: A distraught Alec Baldwin, after he accidentally shot & killed the cinematographer on the set of his new movie, & wounded the writer-director. How on earth could this have happened?
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) October 22, 2021
Pics: Jim Weber @thenewmexican pic.twitter.com/xrvcheLaCK
The two were shot just before 2 p.m. local time Thursday while filming a scene at the Bonanza Creek Ranch, according to the sheriff’s office. It wasn’t clear how the firearm was discharged, or what type of projectile may have been discharged from it, the sheriff’s office said.
The incident remained under investigation and no charges had been filed.
In a statement posted to Twitter by the Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, President Fran Drescher and National Executive Director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland said they were “devastated by this tragic news,” and voiced their sympathy with the victims’ families.
“This is still an active investigation and we do not yet have all the facts,” the SAG-AFTRA leaders said the union would “continue to work with production, the other unions, and the authorities to investigate this incident and to understand how to prevent such a thing from happening again.”
