Tragedy as actor Alec Baldwin accidentally shoots dead woman with prop gun on movie set

A woman was tragically shot dead and a film director injured on Thursday after Hollywood star Alec Baldwin fired a prop gun during filming in New Mexico.

Police confirmed the victim of the fatal shooting was Halyna Hutchins, 42, who was working on the film as director of photography.

Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to Bonanza Creek Ranch at around 13:50 local time (19:50 GMT) yesterday (23rd Oct) after receiving shocking news about a shooting on the set of a Western film called ‘Rust’.

Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was flown to hospital by helicopter after the accident but sadly died of her injuries. The director of the film, director Joel Souza, 48, was also injured during the shooting accident and taken from the scene at Bonanza Creek Ranch and transferred to hospital to receive treatment for his injuries.

Police issued a statement saying an investigation has opened into the devastating incident but no charges have been filed. Mr Baldwin, 63, voluntarily went to the police station, where he was seen “crying” outside the building, and spoke to detectives about the shooting which involved the misfiring of a prop gun with blank bullets while filming a scene for a film called ‘Rust’.

Mr Baldwin plays the title character in the film and is also a co-producer and the production was currently being filmed at Bonanza Creek Ranch, in New Mexico.

The victim of the tragic accident, who hailed from Ukraine, was described by American Cinematographer magazine as a “rising star”.

John Lindley, the president of International Cinematographer’s Guild, issued a statement about the fatal accident and said: “The details are unclear at this moment, but we are working to learn more, and we support a full investigation into this tragic event.”