‘Rust’ Shooting Incident
On October 21, 2021, Alec was holding a prop gun when it discharged on the set of his film, Rust.
Alec allegedly accidentally fired a prop gun on the set of his movie Rust, injuring the film’s director, Joel Souza, and killing director of photography, Hutchins. According to The New York Times, the assistant director called out “cold gun” before handing Alec the weapon, meaning it was not loaded. Detective Joel Cano declared in an affidavit that the assistant director “did not know live rounds were in the prop gun.”
Alec reacted to the tragic accident on October 15, 2021, via Twitter. “There are no words to convey my shock and sadness regarding the tragic accident that took the life of Halnya 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 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 Halnya,” he wrote.
In a December 2021 primetime ABC special, Alec claimed that he hadn’t pulled the trigger of the gun. “The trigger wasn’t pulled. I didn’t pull the trigger. I would never point a gun at anyone and pull the trigger at them” he said. “Someone put a live bullet in a gun, a bullet that wasn’t even supposed to be on the property. Someone is responsible for what happened, and I can’t say who that is, but I know it’s not me.”
Hutchins’ husband, Matt Hutchins, reacted to Alec not taking responsibility for the tragedy during a February 2022 appearance on TODAY.
“Watching him [in the ABC special], I just felt so angry to see him talk about her death so publicly in such a detailed way, and then not accept any of the responsibility, after having just described killing her,” Matt said.
When Hoda Kotb asked Kim if he felt the “majority” of the blame was Alec’s, he replied, “The idea that the person holding the gun causing it to discharge is not responsible is absurd to me.”
An investigation into the shooting is ongoing.
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