While filming a scene for a new movie, Rust, the director of photography, was killed, and the director was injured after actor Alec Baldwin, 63, discharged a prop weapon.
The prop weapon was supposed to be loaded with blanks. When it was discharged, the bullet hit Halyna Hutchin and Joal Souza.
Halyna Hutchin, 42, director of photography, was transported to the hospital by helicopter and was pronounced dead at the local University of New Mexico Hospital, according to the Sante Fe County sheriff’s office.
No information has been released on Joel Souza, 48, the director who was also injured. He was transported to Christis St. Vincent’s Regional Medical Center by ambulance.
Alec Baldwin was spotted on the set-in tears after the incident transpired and the loss of his director.
Production has paused. The film, Rust, a Western in the 1880s about a 13-year-old boy left to take care of himself and his younger brother after their parents died in Kansas. They later go on the run with his grandfather, played by Alec Baldwin, after being sentenced to death for accidentally killing a local rancher, according to IMBD.
No charges have been filed regarding the incident, and the investigation remains open. Detectives on the scene will continue to question witnesses to gather the facts of what happened.
Alec Baldwin opened up, making a statement, “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. My heart is broken for her husband, their son, and all who knew and loved Halyna.”