Cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins Dies After Prop Gun Misfire

On Thursday, October 21st, cinematographer and beloved wife and mother, Halyna Hutchins, tragically lost her life due to a fatal, accidental discharge of a prop gun on the set of the new movie, Rust. During rehearsal, actor Alec Baldwin was told that he was being handed a “cold gun,” meaning it did not contain any actual bullets, but upon drawing the gun to practice the scene, it discharged, leaving two crew members (including Hutchins) wounded. Director Joel Souza was struck in his right shoulder but was lucky enough to survive the injury. Hutchins was airlifted to the hospital, where she was unfortunately pronounced dead. 

While there are still many unknown details about the incident, the essential question on everyone’s mind remains: why did this so-called “prop gun” contain live ammunition, and how did it end up in the hands of people who believed it to be safe? It was reported by two crew members that merely a week before the fatal shooting, there had been two accidental discharges of a gun that the actors were told was “cold.” No one was hurt during these misfires, but it is clear that this should have prompted further investigation.

The movie’s armorer, Hannah Gutierrez Reed, finally broke her silence, but was quick to shift the blame to the producers, one of which is Baldwin himself. Rust Movie Productions stated that their “top priority” is the safety of the cast and crew, and that they were unaware of any gun safety issues prior to the incident. It is unknown how the gun made it through the safety check, but the affidavit states that by the time it got into the hands of the assistant director, he believed it to be unloaded. Although Gutierrez Reed was one of the few people to handle the gun the day it was discharged, she maintains that this incident is the fault of rushed conditions and a low budget. She also denied responsibility for the misfires prior to the incident, and her attorneys claimed that “this set would never have been compromised if live ammo were not introduced. Hannah has no idea where the live rounds came from.” 

Although no arrests have been made, this is still an open and active investigation, and the Santa Fe District Attorney stated that criminal charges have not been ruled out for anyone involved. The investigation is currently focused on figuring out what type of bullet was in the gun that killed Halyna Hutchins and who was responsible for placing it there. 

By Sophia Sanders