One dead after Alec Baldwin fires prop gun on movie set

Hollywood actor Alec Baldwin killed a cinematographer and wounded a director when he discharged a prop gun on a movie set in New Mexico on Thursday, authorities said.

Baldwin shot Halyna Hutchins, the photography director of Rust, and Joel Souza, the film's director, at the Bonanza Creek Ranch, a production location south of Santa Fe, according to the Santa Fe Sheriff's Department.

Hutchins was transported by helicopter to the University of New Mexico Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Souza was taken by ambulance to Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical center to undergo treatment for his injuries. The severity of his injuries could not immediately be determined.

The Sheriff's office said that no charges have been filed and they are investigating the shooting and interviewing witnesses.

"The investigation remains open and active," the Sherrif's office said in a statement.

Entertainment news site Deadline cited a source in the Sheriff's office as saying that Baldwin was questioned by investigators and later released.

Baldwin's representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Earlier on Thursday, news magazine People reported that a spokesperson for Baldwin had said there was an "accident" involving the "misfire of a prop gun with blanks".

Baldwin is a co-producer of Rust, a Western movie set in 1880s Kansas, and plays the eponymous character who is an outlaw grandfather of a 13-year-old boy convicted of an accidental killing.

Earlier on Thursday, Baldwin posted a picture of himself on Instagram sporting a grey beard and dressed in Western cowboy-style attire in front of trailers. He appeared to have a fake blood stain on his shirt and jacket.

"Back to in person at the office. Blimey … it's exhausting," he wrote. The post was deleted late on Thursday night.

Known for his impersonations of former US President Donald Trump on NBC's comedy sketch show Saturday Night Live, Baldwin has a long history in film and television, including roles in Glengarry Glen Ross and 30 Rock.

Baldwin was charged in 2018 after a fight over a New York parking spot. He pleaded guilty to second-degree harassment and agreed to participate in an anger management programme.

In 2014, he was given a summons for disorderly conduct after an argument with police who stopped him from riding his bike down a one-way street in New York. And in 2011, he was thrown off a plane for refusing to stop playing the game "Words with Friends" before take-off.