Photography director killed by Alec Baldwin's prop gun on New Mexico movie set, authorities say

Alec Baldwin fired a "prop firearm" on the New Mexico set of the movie Rust and the director of photography died after being struck by a projectile, the Santa Fe sheriff's office said late Thursday. The movie's director, Joel Souza, was also injured and is being treated in a Santa Fe hospital. Halyna Hutchins, the 42-year-old director of photography, died after being airlifted to a hospital from the set at Bonanza Creek Ranch.

A spokesman for Baldwin told The Associated Press there was an accident on the set involving the misfire of a prop guy with blanks. "A source close to the investigation said Baldwin, 63, was questioned by investigators late Thursday and was seen by a New Mexican reporter and photographer in tears," the Santa Fe New Mexican reported.

"According to investigators, it appears that the scene being filmed involved the use of a prop firearm when it was discharged," a sheriff's spokesman said. "Detectives are investigating how and what type of projectile was discharged." No charges have been filed.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Accidents with firearms do kill people on movie sets every once in a while, AP notes. Infamously, Brandon Lee, the 28-year-old son of Bruce Lee, died on set in 1993 after being hit with a .44 caliber slug while filming a death scene in the movie The Crow. The gun was supposed to have fired a blank. Actor Jon-Erik Hexum similarly died in 1984 while filming the TV series Cover Up. He was pretending to play Russian roulette with a gun that was supposed to be loaded with blanks. Both deaths were ruled accidents.