“Negligence and unprofessionalism,” is what one set member had to say was the cause of the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, 42.
On Oct. 21 in New Mexico, during the filming of “Rust”, a new movie directed by Joel Souza, took a turn for the worse when Alec Baldwin shot a loaded gun, killing Hutchinson and injuring Souza.
Hutchinson was shot in her midsection and was immediately attended to by on-site medics. She was then airlifted to the University of New Mexico Hospital, where she was soon after pronounced dead.
Souza was shot in his right shoulder and was transported by ambulance to Christus St. Vincent Hospital in Santa Fe, where he has since been released. Souza finally broke his silence on the situation in a statement where he claims he is “gutted” by the death of Hutchinson.
The gun was supposed to have been checked first by several people before it was fired. However, assistant director Dave Halls has a “history of unsafe practices,” according to one of the prop makers, Maggie Goll.
“He did not maintain a safe working environment,” said Goll in a detailed statement to NBC News. “Sets were almost always allowed to become increasingly claustrophobic, no established fire lanes, exits blocked… Safety meetings were nonexistent.”
Goll stated she may end up losing her job for speaking up about the unsafe protocols that were being allowed on set but said, “we have to speak up”.
According to people working on the set, several employees walked out hours before the shooting because the gun Baldwin was using had previously fired bullets when it was only supposed to contain blanks.
Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza stated Baldwin has been cooperating with investigators, but several other individuals still need to be interviewed as this is an ongoing investigation.
Mendoza said during a press conference Wednesday that in addition to the bullet taken from Souza’s shoulder, investigators found 500 rounds of ammunition. This included a mix of blanks, dummy rounds, and what appeared to be live rounds, which were not supposed to be on the set, to begin with.
Mendoza also stated the current investigation is focused on who was handling the gun and ammunition prior to the accident.
No charges have been filed against anyone yet. Baldwin and his family have since been spotted in a small town in Vermont.
This story will continue to be updated as more information is released.
Marquie Peyton
Intern