Actor Alec Baldwin on Thursday accidentally fired a loaded weapon on the set of his movie ‘Rust’, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza. Speaking about the incident for the first since the accident, the director said he was “gutted” by Hutchins’s death.
The accident took place on the New Mexico set of the movie. Baldwin fired a prop gun with a live round, killing 42-year-old Hutchins. Souza, who was standing behind the actor, was also injured in the incident. He was treated in hospital and later discharged.
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In his first statement after the accident, Souza says he is “gutted by the loss of my friend and colleague” Halyna and also well-wishers for their “outpouring of affection”.
“I am gutted by the loss of my friend and colleague, Halyna. She was kind, vibrant, incredibly talented, fought for every inch and always pushed me to be better,” he said.
“My thoughts are with her family at this most difficult time. I am humbled and grateful by the outpouring of affection we have received from our filmmaking community, the people of Santa Fe, and the hundreds of strangers who have reached out… It will surely aid in my recovery.”
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Court records said Baldwin was handed the gun by an assistant director who assured that it was safe. As of Saturday, police were investigating the incident and no charges had been brought.
Meanwhile, multiple reports stated that prior to the shooting, several union crew members walked off set in protest of “poor” working conditions.
“The safety of our cast and crew is the top priority of Rust Productions and everyone associated with the company. Though we were not made aware of any official complaints concerning weapon or prop safety on set, we will be conducting an internal review of our procedures while production is shut down,” Rust Movie Productions, LLC said in a statement to ET on Friday.
