A cinematographer working on the film Rust is dead and the director is hospitalized after an accident during filming involving star Alec Baldwin and a misfiring prop gun, authorities said Thursday.
The Western, starring Baldwin and Jensen Ackles of Supernatural, began filming this month at Bonanza Creek Movie Ranch, a film location in Sante Fe, New Mexico.
Deputies with the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office responded to the film set after a 911 caller “reported a shooting on the set,” the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
Two people were shot after a prop firearm was discharged during filming, authorities said. Baldwin fired the prop gun, striking the film’s director, Joel Souza, and director of photography, Halyna Hutchins, the sheriff’s office said in a follow-up statement Thursday night.
Detectives are still determining “how and what type of projectile was discharged,” the sheriff’s office said earlier.
No charges have been filed in the shooting, authorities said. The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the incident.
Hutchins, 42, was transported via helicopter to University of New Mexico Hospital, the state’s only Level 1 trauma center, “in critical condition,” according to sheriff’s deputies and the hospital. She later succumbed to her injuries, the sheriff’s office said.
Souza, 48, was brought in an ambulance to Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center and is receiving emergency care, authorities said.
The film halted production following the accident, a producer said.
Baldwin shared a photo from the set of Rust earlier on Thursday in costume.
“Back to in person at the office,” he captioned the post. “Blimey…it’s exhausting.”
The actor is co-producing the film under his company, El Dorado Pictures, with Souza writing and directing.
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