A woman is dead and a man is injured after they were shot by a prop firearm reportedly discharged by actor Alec Baldwin on a movie set in New Mexico on Thursday.
incident took place on the movie set of “Rust.”
According to the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office, a 42-year-old woman was airlifted to the University of New Mexico Hospital and died of her injuries. A 48-year-old man was receiving emergency care at another hospital.
deceased woman is cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, and the injured man is director Joel Souza.
victims “were shot when a prop firearm was discharged by Alex Baldwin, 68, producer and actor.”
Filming was scheduled to continue into early November, according to the New Mexico Film Office, but now production of the Western movie has been halted.
A spokesperson for Baldwin said there was an accident on the set involving the misfire of a prop gun with blanks.
Santa Fe New Mexican reported Baldwin was seen Thursday outside the sheriff’s office in tears. Attempts to get a comment from him were unsuccessful.
Sheriff’s spokesman Juan Rios told the Albuquerque Journal, “According to investigators, it appears that the scene being filmed involved the use of a prop firearm when it was discharged.
“Detectives are investigating how and what type of projectile was discharged.”
Rios said that deputies responded around 2 p.m. local time to the movie set at the Bonanza Creek Ranch after 911 reports of a person being shot on set.
No one has been arrested and no charges have been filed in the incident. Sheriff’s office said that the incident remains under an “open and active” investigation as of late Thursday.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
Pezou : Woman Dead, Man Injured After Actor Alec Baldwin Fires Prop Gun on Movie Set: Sheriff’s Office