In the aftermath of Alec Baldwin’s fatal shooting of a cinematographer with a prop gun on a set in New Mexico, the family of actor Brandon Lee — who was killed by a blank round in 1993 — said “no one” should ever die while filming a movie.
“Our hearts go out to the family of Halyna Hutchins and to Joel Souza and all involved in the incident on ‘Rust.’ No one should ever be killed by a gun on a film set. Period,” read a statement on Lee’s official Twitter account after the shooting by Baldwin.
Hutchins, 42, the director of photography on the Western drama, was killed, and Souza, 48, the director, was wounded at the filming location at Bonanza Creek Ranch in Santa Fe, according to the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office.
Sources told TMZ that either shrapnel or a bullet struck the two workers. No charges were filed as of late Thursday, and detectives were still interviewing witnesses.
In the 1993 incident, 28-year-old Brandon was killed while filming “The Crow” in North Carolina when a prop gun that was an actual revolver was loaded with improperly made .44-caliber dummy rounds, one of which got lodged in the barrel and was discharged by a blank cartridge.
Thursday’s shooting drew a flood of reactions by celebrities and industry figures, including actor Elijah Wood.
“Absolutely horrifying and devastating news about cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins. My heart goes out to her family,” he said in a tweet.
Paul Scheer, star of the FX/FXX series “The League,” said he was “gutted.”
“This is beyond a tragedy and there are so many rules in place to make sure this can’t happen. I can’t even fathom how this is possible. So many people had to be negligent. This is a crime. Halyna was a tremendous talent. I’m sick to my stomach,” he wrote on Twitter.
Actress Debra Messing defended Baldwin, her former co-star, saying he was handed the prop gun.
“He used it in the scene. Then- a catastrophic event happened where Halnya Hutchins lost her life and Joel Souza was injured. I am praying for all of their families,” she wrote.
Fillmmaker Amy Berg called the shooting an “absolute nightmare.”
“We lost a rising star, female cinematographer Halyna Hutchins,” she wrote.
“Incredibly concerning that a DP and director would be in the line of fire during a weapons discharge on set. Also, the idea that an actor was handed a weapon without full knowledge of the type of rounds loaded into it is, if true, super alarming,” Berg said in another tweet.
Horror film director Mike Flanagan said his “heart breaks for the family and friends of Halyna Hutchins — this is just horrifying and devastating news.”
