American actor and producer Alec Baldwin, famous for his movie roles and his impersonation of Donald Trump on Saturday Night Live, fired a gun used in the filming of the western “Rust”. Director of photography Halyna Hutchins has passed away, and director Joel Souza seriously injured.
Fatal accident on the set of “Rust” involving Alec Baldwin
Thursday, October 21, 2021, at the Bonanza Creek ranch, a famous film location in the Santa Fe region, a very serious accident has taken place. While filming a western called “Rust”, co-produced and performed by Alec Baldwin and directed by Joel Souza, gunshots rang out. No wonder for a western, except that the unloaded weapon did contain live ammunition … According to the spokesperson for the sheriff of Santa Fe, the shots were fired by Alec Baldwin, fatally reaching cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza.
Urgently rushed to hospital, 42-year-old Halyna Hutchins is unfortunately died of her injuries. The director Joel Souza is, still according to the spokesperson for the sheriff of Santa Fe, in “critical” condition.
A still unexplained tragedy
As AFP has been informed, the actor voluntarily surrendered to authorities to make a statement and answer questions. For the moment no prosecution has been initiated nor any arrests made.
It’s hard to imagine that such a thing could still happen, with the security protocols put in place during filming involving the use of such props. We remember the death of Brandon Lee in 1993, son of the legendary Bruce Lee fatally injured in the stomach by a gun also supposed to be loaded “blank”, on the set of The Crow.
An investigation must be carried out to determine exactly the course of events and to establish what were the actions of Alec Baldwin during this terrible accident. Production of the film has been halted indefinitely.
