Report: Halyna Hutchins Was Shot in Chest When Alec Baldwin Fired Prop Gun

The New York Post reports that Halyna Hutchins, the 42-year-old cinematographer who Alec Baldwin shot and killed on the Rust movie set Thursday, was shot in the chest.

Breitbart News noted Thursday that New Mexico’s Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office was investigating Hutchins’ death after actor Alec Baldwin discharged a prop gun. A second individual, 48-year-old Joel Souza, was also wounded in the shooting.

On Sunday, the Post observed that Baldwin “unknowingly fired a live round, hitting 42-year-old Hutchins in the chest and killing her. Director Joel Souza, 48, who was standing behind her, was also injured.”

Script supervisor Mamie Mitchell called 911 after the shooting occurred.

Mitchell told the dispatcher, “We had two people accidentally shot on a movie set by a prop gun, we need help immediately. We were rehearsing and it went off, and I ran out, we all ran out.”

Hollywood weapons expert Bryan Carpenter talked to the Post and stressed that the No. 1 rule for prop firearms is: “Loaded or unloaded, a weapon never gets pointed at another human being.”

He noted that rules of gun safety apply even on a movie set, where “you never let the muzzle of a weapon cover something you don’t intend to destroy.”

The New York Post reports:

New Mexico criminal attorney Erlinda Johnson, a former state and federal prosecutor said the “Beetlejuice” actor could face possible criminal liability for involuntary manslaughter.

“All the state needs to demonstrate is that he was engaged in a lawful, but dangerous act and did not act with due caution,” she said. “That’s what the state has to prove for involuntary manslaughter, which is a fourth-degree felony with a maximum penalty of up to 18 months in prison.”

Breitbart News pointed out that an overarching gun safety rule is that individuals are to treat every gun as if is loaded. This rule goes hand-in-hand with the one on which Carpenter focused and also negates pointing a gun at anyone, as the firearm is always presumed loaded.