Entertainment
Alec Baldwin’s brother Stephen asks for prayers after actor accidentally shoots dead Halyna Hutchins
Stephen Baldwin has asked for prayers in the wake of the tragic accident (Picture: FilmMagic)
Alec Baldwin’s brother Stephen has spoken out after the actor fired a gun on set of his latest movie Rust, accidentally killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
The fatal incident took place on Thursday as filming got underway in New Mexico, with Baldwin, 63, discharging a prop gun that ended up hitting Hutchins and the film’s director Joel Souza.
Hutchins later died from her injuries while Souza was released from hospital on Friday morning.
As news of the tragic accident broke this morning, Baldwin’s younger brother Stephen, 55, wrote in an Instagram post: ‘Asking for your prayers tonight friends not much can be said other than please pray for all involved in the wake of this tragic accident thank you.’
Baldwin, who is yet to speak out about the events, was also defended by his longtime friend and actress Debra Messing.
Conservative media personality Benny Johnson reacted to the news tweeting: ‘BREAKING: Alec Baldwin kills person with gun, criminal investigation underway. This is the accurate headline fyi.’
However, Baldwin was questioned by police in Sante Fe and released without charge.
Debra, who is a longtime friend of the actor, defended him and responded: ‘It is absolutely NOT. A prop gun was handed to him . 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.’
Authorities responded to an incident at Bonanza Creek at around 1:50pm on Thursday following 911 calls indicating someone had been shot on set.
An eyewitness has since revealed that Baldwin ‘kept asking why he was handed a “hot gun”’ and said: ‘In all my years, I’ve never been handed a hot gun.’
Caption: https://www.instagram.com/p/BxFyElbAWPs/
Halyna Hutchins
Provider: @halynahutchins
Director Joel Souza was injured but has been released from hospital (Picture: Getty Images)
Baldwin shared this photo of himself on set of Rust hours before the incident. It’s not known when the photo was taken (Picture: @alecbaldwininsta, Instagram)
They added the actor and producer was taken to hospital immediately and had ‘no idea how badly they were hurt or Halyna was dead’.
Hutchins, who was 42, worked as the film’s director of photography.
Tributes have poured in from Hollywood stars with some having worked with her in the past.
Jungle Cruise actor Dwayne commented on Hutchins’ last Instagram post and said: ‘I am so so sorry.
‘Rest easy. My love and strength to your family.’
Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn tweeted: ‘My greatest fear is that someone will be fatally hurt on one of my sets. I pray this will never happen. My heart goes out to all of those affected by the tragedy today on Rust, especially Halyna Hutchins & her family.’
What is a blank?
A blank is a firearm cartridge that generates a muzzle flash and an explosive sound like any normal gunshot, and the firearm experiences a recoil capable of cycling its action, but without shooting a projectile.
They’re often used on set for shooting simulations that still demand light and sound effects.
Blank cartridges comprised of most parts of real ammunition – the casing (or shell), propellant material (gunpowder) which is inside the casing) and a primer on the bottom of the cartridge – apart from the projectile (or bullet).
Blanks are often made of wads of paper, plastic, felt or cotton, however they are propelled at high velocity and are far from harmless with injuries occuring if there is something in the barrel that comes in contact with the releasing gas of the blank.
Magic Mike actor Joe Manganiello was particularly affected by the news and paid tribute to Hutchins, who he recently worked with, in a heartfelt post which said: ‘I woke up to the messages and read the news and I am in shock. I was so lucky to have had @halynahutchins as my DP on Archenemy.
‘She was an absolutely incredible talent and a great person. She had such an eye and a visual style, she was the kind of cinematographer that you wanted to see succeed because you wanted to she what she could pull off next… and she was a fantastic person.’
He continued: ‘There was no amount of pressure she couldn’t handle. She was a great collaborator and an ally to anyone in front of her camera. Everyone who knew her was rooting for her.
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‘I can’t believe that this could happen in this day and age… gunfire from a prop gun could kill a crew member? This is a horrible tragedy. My heart goes out to her family and especially to her son. I am so sad today for everyone who knew her and worked with her…’
Production on Rust has been suspended as the police investigations continue.
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