Lana Askari | Staff Writer
On Thursday October 21st, American actor Alec Baldwin – best known for his portrayal of Jack Donaghy on NBC’s 30 Rock – fired a gun on the set of his upcoming western film “Rust”, accidentally injuring director Joel Souza and killing director of photography Halyna Hutchins.
Hutchins, 42, was “in critical condition” as she was transported via helicopter to University of New Mexico Hospital, where she later passed away. Souza, 48, was brought in an ambulance to Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center. Authorities confirmed he was receiving emergency care before “Rust” cast member Frances Fischer tweeted that he had been released from the hospital Friday morning.
Hutchins, originally Ukrainian, graduated with a degree in International Journalism from Kyiv National University. She then attained a degree from the American Film Institute, advancing in a Los Angeles-based career in cinematography. Many have publicly mourned the rising artist, including actor Joe Manganiello, cinematographer Elle Schneider, and Alec Baldwin himself.
Till now, no charges have been filed and the investigation is still ongoing. Local District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies issued a statement on Friday saying that while nothing is certain, criminal charges are not ruled out.
The incident occurred on the set of a church, where the scene required Baldwin to shoot a (supposedly blank) gun directly into a camera lens. When the gun was fired, a bullet struck Hutchins in the chest, and Souza in the shoulder. Detectives are still determining “how and what type of projectile was discharged,” the sheriff’s office said earlier.
Although Baldwin stated that he is currently being fully cooperative with authorities, whether the world-renowned actor will face criminal charges or not remains a complicated matter. The dilemma stems from the responsibilities Baldwin carries both as an actor and a producer of the film: He seems to be absolved of any blame as an actor, since he followed clear instructions and acted according to the script; however, he could be held accountable as a producer for possible knowledge of issues of safety or breach of protocol on set.
The question of why the gun was loaded in the first place remains unanswered. In an affidavit, Detective Joel Cano says that the assistant director was not aware of the presence of bullets in the gun as he declared “cold gun” before handing Baldwin the firearm, “cold” meaning the absence of bullets in the gun.
Surprisingly, the LA Times reports that many crew members walked off set hours prior to the fatal accident to protest working conditions. They accused the production of failing to adhere to safety measures, including firearm inspections. The workers claimed that there had previously been two unintentional gun discharges on set, with Baldwin’s stunt double allegedly firing a gun that had been declared “cold” only to discover a live round in it.
“There should have been an investigation into what happened,” a crew member told the LA Times. “There were no safety meetings. There was no assurance that it wouldn’t happen again. All they wanted to do was rush, rush, rush.”
Production has been halted amidst the investigation.