Alec Baldwin reportedly discharged a prop gun at a movie set outside Santa Fe, New Mexico, on Thursday, killing a woman and injuring a man.
The incident resulted in the death of the film’s director of photography, Halyna Hutchins, 42, and an injury of director Joel Souza, 48, the sheriff’s office said in a statement released Thursday evening, NBC News reported.
“There was an accident today on the New Mexico set of Rust involving the misfire of a prop gun with blanks,” a spokesperson for Baldwin said in a statement, according to NBC News. “Production has been halted for the time being. The safety of our cast and crew remains our top priority.”
The sheriff’s office said that investigators were looking into “how and what type of projectile was discharged,” Variety reported. (RELATED: ‘Terrible Gun Safety’: Will Smith Delivers A Quick Lesson On The Set Of New ‘Bad Boys’ Film)
BREAKING: Sheriff: Producer Alec Baldwin fired the prop gun on the movie set of the Western “Rust” that killed photography chief and injured director. https://t.co/M5uQen6VzJ
— The Associated Press (@AP) October 22, 2021
Baldwin was reportedly questioned by the investigators Thursday evening and was seen and photographed in tears while in the parking lot outside the sheriff’s office, according to Santa Fe New Mexican.
No charges have been filed as of Thursday, pending results of the investigations, law officials reportedly said.
In the movie “Rust,” on the set of which the deadly accident took place, Baldwin plays an estranged father of a 13-year-old boy who is sentenced to hang for an accidental killing. The plot of the film is set in the 1880s, according to NBC News.
Accidental shootings on movie sets have previously resulted in the deaths of the filming crew. 28-year-old Brandon Lee was shot by a 44-caliber slug while filming a death scene for the 1993 movie “The Crow.”
In a 1994 incident, Jon-Erik Hexum shot himself in the head with a .44 Magnum when pretending to play Russian roulette on the set of the television series “Cover Up,” according to The Associated Press.