Actor fires "prop gun," kills cinematographer and wounds director on-set

[timjake]

The Sante Fe, New Mexico Sheriff's Department has confirmed that Alec Baldwin "discharged" the prop gun that killed one "Rust" crew member and injured director Joel Souza.

Director of Photography Halyna Hutchins died not long after being transported to a hospital in Albuequereque.

Santa Fe Sheriff's department statement:

Santa Fe County Sheriff's deputies were dispatched to the Bonanza Creek Ranch movie set of the western "Rust", October 21, 2021, when an 911 caller reported a shooting on the set.

The sheriff's office confirms that two individuals were shot on the set of Rust. 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.

Ms. Hutchins was transported, via helicopter, to University of New Mexico Hospital where she was pronounced dead by medical personnel. Mr. Souza was transported by ambulance to Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical center where he is undergoing treatment for his injuries.

Alec Baldwin "Discharged" Prop Gun That Killed 'Rust' Cinematographer & Injured Director On Set

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I'll be careful with my comments - this is a tragedy and those involved need our prayers.

We also need to avoid jumping to conclusions until the investigation is complete.

I was originally going to write something completely different about safety even with prop guns, but we don't have facts to go on yet, just the initial reporting.

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

First and foremost: was the ammunition, prop blanks (5 in 1) or commercial blanks or live? That will be the basis for a crime or accident!

It has been awhile, but every so often they forget blanks do kill!

Ivan

 

[sigp220.45]

Its hard to shoot two people with one blank.

Let the speculation begin.

 

[bigwheelzip]

The cinematographer that was killed. Halyna Hutchins

 

[Muss Muggins]

This is gonna get ugly. Mr. Baldwin is famously anti-gun, so his excuse will probably be "See, I told you so . . . "

IBTL

 

[.455_Hunter]

I wonder if an incident similar to Brandon Lee's death occured, where a live primer "dummy" was fired in prop gun, lodging a bullet in the bore of the revolver, followed by a blank.

 

[mrchick]

This one comes to mind as well. It was a long time ago but shows that actors still need to be educated about firearm safety.

The body of actor Jon-Erik Hexum, who fatally shot... - UPI Archives

 

[Sistema1927]

Director of Photography Halyna Hutchins died not long after being transported to a hospital in Albuequereque.

This is dominating the local news. And, yeah, I know it is hard to spell, but it is Albuquerque. It has enough letters without any additions.

 

[dasnake]

Years ago.......

When I was a kid in between the dilinger and bonnie and clyde stories about the depression era that my old man used to tell me was an explanation of a musician/actor/singer who died in the early '30s, Russ Colombo, gun misfire that shot a dueling gun ball that lodged in his head, unintended consequences of unsafe gun handling.

 

[fordson]

While it may be fun to speculate, we may want to hold it down for a bit while more info is provided. Two people were injured, one fatally. While I may dislike Mr. Baldwin, three people's lives have forever changed. I feel sorry for all of them.

 

[s&wchad]

Tragic… My heart goes out to the victims and their families.

Too early to comment? I don't know about that…

I'm not surprised how tight lipped that are about providing information. I'm also not surprised about some of the misinformation. Anyone else catch the title of the video:
"1 Dead, Another Wounded After Prop-Gun Misfire…"

Misfire??? I was taught that a misfire is when a cartridge fails to go off. That's obviously not what happened in this case.

What about safe gun handling? ANYONE who handles firearms (even "prop guns") should be instructed in safe gun handling. Treat every firearm as if it was loaded. Never point a gun at something or someone you're not willing to destroy. Pointing any type of gun at another person, let alone a a crew member, is an obvious breach. And then to hit two people?

It sure sounds like negligence to me.

 

[1BadSmith]

Agree with everything above. Shame on Mr. Baldwin for not learning or caring about firearm safety. Obviously, one major point is, if this happened to ANY one of us we would see a jail cell until the details were figured out!!

 

[dmar]

Such a tragedy, prayers for the young lady that was killed, and the man wounded and struggling to recover.

Definitely negligence, at a minimum. Given Baldwin's track record, I'll unfairly, prematurely, and irresponsibly conjecture two possibilities. First, given his reputation as a temperamental, egotistical, flaming *******, I'd say he could have gotten angry/argumentative about something going on with the filming and was being aggressive by pointing his "prop" gun at these two and shooting them.

Another unfair, premature, and irresponsible conjecture is that there is a pretty lady, and another man involved, and we're talking about a high level, egotistical actor with a track record for volatile personal relationships.

Another possible scenario is that the shooting had to be at close range, and there are two victims, and they are not actors that would be involved in the on camera filming of an action sequence. So, this is very unusual. Or is it? Could it have been the director walking Baldwin through his part with the woman victim being used in place of an actor. Possible. Maybe probable. Maybe why Baldwin wasn't arrested. Tragic for sure.

 

[dmar]

Agree with everything above. Shame on Mr. Baldwin for not learning or caring about firearm safety. Obviously, one major point is, if this happened to ANY one of us we would see a jail cell until the details were figured out!!

Good point, and I agree! Special treatment for the wealthy, famous, and well lawyered...?!

 

[moosedog]

When ever you are using any type of firearms in training or in acting situations you must always have at least one safety officer who is responsible for checking the guns and blanks. It seems something was over looked here and tragically it cost a life and ruined others.

 

[Rodan]

While I have little regard for Mr. Baldwin, rushing to judgement seems to be pandemic these days.

What we consider to be cardinal safety rules are often violated on a movie set. And a DP is often going to be behind the camera a 'prop' gun might be pointed at. Perhaps we should wait 'till the facts are known before passing judgement.

After all, we wouldn't want folks to rush to judge an incident involving ourselves based on early and vague news reports, would we?

 

[bushmaster1313]

I have a recently acquired new gun that has never been loaded by me and which has been checked and dry fired several times. It is kept in a safe whose combination only I have. A few days ago I took the gun from my safe and checked the magazine and chamber before I practiced lining up the sights. Even so, I kept it pointed in a direction that would be safe if it were to discharge.

 

[rwsmith]

The prop people......

The prop people who handle the guns are responsible for providing actors with guns properly set up. Usually one person is the 'key' in the gun department does this to prevent confusion. I wonder what happened for this to occur?

 

[tlawler]

This is gonna get ugly. Mr. Baldwin is famously anti-gun, so his excuse will probably be "See, I told you so . . . "

IBTL

Wouldn't that be the Apex of Hypocrisy!

 

[ladder13]

The shooter. I'm thinking his lawyer is on the other end.