Alec Baldwin 'discharged' prop gun that left cinematographer dead and director hospitalized on 'Rust' movie set

UPDATE: On Thursday about 7 p.m. MST, the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office reported that, "Halyna Hutchins, 42, director of photography and Joel Souza, 48, director, were shot when a prop firearm was discharged by Alec Baldwin, 68, producer and actor." Souza was still undergoing treatment for his injuries. Officials said detectives are interviewing witnesses, as the case remains open and active, and that no charges have been filed.

John Lindley, the president of the International Cinematographers Guild, and Rebecca Rhine, the organization's national executive director, gave a statement to Deadline: "We received the devastating news this evening, that one of our members, Halyna Hutchins, the Director of Photography on a production called Rust in New Mexico died from injuries sustained on the set. "The details are unclear at this moment, but we are working to learn more, and we support a full investigation into this tragic event. This is a terrible loss, and we mourn the passing of a member of our Guild's family."

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A shooting on the New Mexico set of the Alec Baldwin movie Rust left one person dead and another in critical condition Thursday.

At 1:50 p.m. MST, Santa Fe County Sheriff's deputies responded to a 911 call that someone had been shot where the movie was filming at Santa Fe's Bonanza Creek Ranch. According to a news release, investigators reported that two individuals were shot when a prop firearm was discharged. As of late Thursday, they were still working to determine exactly what happened.

A 42-year woman was taken by helicopter to University of New Mexico Hospital, where she later died. (Deadline reported that she was a member of the crew.) A male victim, also 42, took an ambulance to Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center, where he is receiving emergency treatment.

Rust is described on IMDb as a Western, the story of a 13-year-old boy in 1880s Kansas who, charged with protecting himself and his little brother after the death of their parents, "goes on the run with his long estranged grandfather after he's sentenced to hang for the accidental killing of a local rancher."

Baldwin, who's also a producer on the film, plays Harland Rust. Supernatural's Jensen Ackles and Frances Fisher, of Unforgiven and Titanic, also are part of the cast. Joel Souza, who last worked on the movie Crown Vic, which was also produced by Baldwin, is the writer-director.

He told the Hollywood Reporter how he ended up doing a Western in a June 2020 interview: "Well, it wasn't obviously something I was setting out to do. I just loved the story. As was the case with Crown Vic, a movie that I made with [Joel] Souza, I love Joel's writing. Love is a word that is so overused, but I really do love his writing. I was going to do Crown Vic, but the schedule kept changing and I wasn't available. So I produced and then when this opportunity came up, on another draft of a script by Joel, I was elated. It wasn't even that I was looking to do a Western, I was just looking for something a little more cinematic with a little less talking. There's great dialog, but the film is balanced by some really stunning cinematics. Hopefully. We haven't shot it yet. But in my mind it looks great."

This story was originally published on Oct. 21, 2021 at 6:52 p.m. PT.