Alec Baldwin Describes “Shock And Sadness” Over The Prop Gun Shooting

Alec Baldwin said he was too speechless to describe the grief he feels over the “tragic” death of Halyna Hutchins, a cinematographer who was killed Thursday when the actor discharged a prop gun on the set of his upcoming film.

“There are no words to convey my shock and sadness regarding the tragic accident that took the life of Halyna Hutchins, a wife, mother and deeply admired colleague of ours. I’m fully cooperating with the police investigation to address how this tragedy occurred,” Baldwin tweeted Friday in response to the incident.

Hutchins was the director of photography for the movie Rust, which Baldwin is coproducing and starring in as Old West outlaw Harland Rust.

The actor went on, “I am in touch with her husband, offering my support to him and his family. My heart is broken for her husband, their son, and all who knew and loved Halyna.”

The film’s director, Joel Souza, 48, was also injured and released from the hospital on Friday.

The details of the shooting are not yet clear, but the Santa Fe sheriff’s office confirmed officials were dispatched to the Bonanza Creek Ranch movie set at 1:50 p.m. Oct. 21 in response to a report of someone being shot on set.

Hutchins, 42, was pronounced dead later that day at the University of New Mexico Hospital.

“No charges have been filed in regard to this incident. Witnesses continue to be interviewed by detectives,” the sheriff’s office said, adding the investigation remains “open and active.”

Many fans took to social media with words of support and solidarity with the actor and Rust‘s cast and crew.

Other voices from Hollywood posted tributes to Hutchins and expressed their grief.

“Women cinematographers have historically been kept from genre film, and it seems especially cruel that one of the rising stars who was able to break through had her life cut short on the kind of project we’ve been fighting for,” director and cinematographer Elle Schneider tweeted.

“There is no way what happened yesterday on Rust could have happened if every single person followed the rules. That’s not me placing blame at any individual’s doorstep; I don’t know all the facts. But with everyone following proper protocol it could not have occurred,” The Suicide Squad director James Gunn tweeted.

He echoed the need for all crew members to be “hard core” about following all safety protocols during filming to ensure a safe work environment.

This was also a cause Hutchins herself was vocal about. Just days before the incident, she posted on social media about the need for more safe and fair working conditions, writing the Rust crew stood in solidarity with the entertainment union ITASE.

Many connected Hutchins’ death to that of actor Brandon Lee, the son of Bruce Lee, who was killed while filming The Crow in 1993 due to an improperly prepared gun used on set.

Hutchins studied journalism and was a documentarian in the United Kingdom before she came to the US to pursue filmmaking, CNN reported.