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Alec Baldwin discharged a prop gun on the set of the Western film Rust in New Mexico when things went terribly wrong on Thursday.
According to the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office, director of photography Halyna Hutchins, 42, was fatally shot and 48-year-old director Joel Souza was taken to the hospital after being wounded.
“According to investigators it appears that the scene being filmed involved the use of a prop firearm when it was discharged,” a statement said, according to CNN.com. “Detectives are investigating how and what type of projectile was discharged.”
An investigation into the incident “remains open and active” but no 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?
Pics: Jim Weber @thenewmexican pic.twitter.com/xrvcheLaCK— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) October 22, 2021
“We are devastated by this tragic news. Our hearts go out to the family of Director of Photography Halyna Hutchins who has passed away and to Director Joel Souza who is injured and hospitalized. This is still an active investigation and we do not yet have all the facts,” Fran Drescher, president of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, and the union’s National Executive Director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland said in a statement.
“We will 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.”
Our deepest condolences go out to all of those impacted by the tragic incident.
