On Thursday, actor Alec Baldwin pulled the trigger on a prop firearm that struck two people, killing one of them, authorities said. He spoke Friday morning for the first time since the accident.
“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,” he said in a tweet from the Twitter account of his foundation.
“I’m fully cooperating with the police investigation to address how this tragedy occurred.”
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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 and— AlecBaldwin(HABF) (@AlecBaldwin) October 22, 2021
According to CNN, Baldwin was filming in New Mexico for his upcoming western movie, “Rust.” He is both starring in and producing the film.
In addition to Hutchins, director Joe Souza, 48, was injured in the accident and taken to a nearby hospital.
Hutchins, 42, was the director of photography for the movie. Baldwin said he has been in contact with her family since the tragedy.
“I am in touch with her husband, offering my support to him and his family,” he tweeted. “My heart is broken for her husband, their son, and all who knew and loved Halyna.”
2- 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.
— AlecBaldwin(HABF) (@AlecBaldwin) October 22, 2021
Jim Hemphill, a journalist and filmmaker who previously profiled Hutchins, told CNN Hutchins was raised on a Soviet military base, where she first developed a love for movies. She studied journalism in the United Kingdom before making it to the United States and entering the film industry.
“So she fell in love with movies at a young age, came over here, was really making a name for herself as a cinematographer of genre movies,” Hemphill told the outlet.
“She was known for action films and horror films. It is just a devastating loss, I think, to everybody in the cinematography community.”
Investigators said they are still looking into “how and what type of projectile was discharged.”
CNN also spoke to a prop master named Joseph Fisher. He said from his experience in the film industry, the military, and the New York Police Department that even prop weapons have the ability to harm someone.
“Prop weapons do have a dangerous factor to them even though they’re a lot safer than using a live firearm on set,” he said.
“Typical prop load will be about 25 to 50% of the gunpowder in an actual projectile load that would be used in a regular weapon.”
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Specifically, Fisher said a prop weapon can cause harm when fired “within 25 to 50 feet” of another person.
Baldwin is also facing backlash after the accident for a tweet he posted in 2017.
“I wonder how it must feel to wrongfully kill someone,” he said in response to a Huntington Beach police officer fatally shooting a criminal suspect.
I wonder how it must feel to wrongfully kill someone…https://t.co/WE6QsAAXGI
— AlecBaldwin (@AlecBaldwln____) September 23, 2017
While the investigation is ongoing, there is no evidence to suggest malicious intent in Thursday’s accident. Baldwin is cooperating with investigators as they attempt to uncover the cause of the tragedy.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.