Well-known actor Alec Baldwin, 63, was in the middle of filming his newest film “Rust” when an accidental fatal shooting occurred. Baldwin’s character, Hardland Rust, was in a small wooden church when he was cornered by a sheriff and the U.S. Marshall and decided to shoot his way out.
Members of the crew surrounded him as it was time for him to practice his scene, which would include a close-up of his hand as he slowly reached across his chest, drew a .45 Long Colt revolver from a shoulder holster, and moved it toward the lens of the camera. While they did use a real gun instead of a prop, everyone was ensured that the gun would be “cold,” concluding that there would either be prop bullets or just completely empty with no rounds. When Baldwin was practicing, the director said he heard a noise that “sounded like a whip and a loud pop,” which happened to be the gun going off.
Haylna Hutchins, 42, was standing feet away from Baldwin and was seen grabbing her midsection and carefully stumbling back due to the bullet fatally passing through her and then to the director Mr. Souza, 48. Ms. Hutchins was flown by helicopter to a hospital in Albuquerque, where she was pronounced dead.
With this happening, there have been many questions as to why there was live ammunition in the gun, why it was cleared to be used, and a rumor flying around that it was a setup of some sort. Baldwin later spoke out about the accident, saying “She was my friend. We were a very, very well-oiled crew shooting a film together, and then this horrible event happened.” He then continued to say, “We have to realize that when it does go wrong and it’s this horrible, catastrophic thing, some new measures have to take place.” There is now a legal team involved with having the set and guns investigated.
