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Actor Alec Baldwin reportedly asked why he was given a "hot gun" after the prop weapon he was using discharged on-set and accidentally killed a cinematographer and injured a director on Thursday (October 21).
An eyewitness on the set of the Santa Fe film Rust told Showbiz 411 they heard a distraught Baldwin repeatedly say, “In all my years, I’ve never been handed a hot gun," meaning a gun with real ammunition.
On Thursday, NBC News reported director of photography, Halyna Hutchins, 42, was killed during the accidental shooting, while director, Joel Souza, 48, was injured, the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office confirmed in a statement.
Hutchins was airlifted to the University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque, where she was pronounced dead.
Souza was reportedly transported via ambulance to a local hopsital and received emergency care, authorties confirmed.
The witness told Showbiz 411 that Baldwin, 63, was immediately taken to a hospital after the shooting and "had no idea how badly they were hurt or Halyna was dead."
The Santa Fe New Mexican reported Baldwin was seen Thursday while speaking on the phone outside the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office.
"There was an accident today on the New Mexico set of 'Rust involving the misfire of a prop gun with blanks," a spokesperson for Baldwin said in a statement obtained by NBC News on Thursday. "Production has been halted for the time being. The safety of our cast and crew remains our top priority."
No charges have been filed in relation to the shooting, but authorities confirmed it remains under an active investigation.
“We’re treating this as we would any other investigation,” Sheriff's Office spokesman Juan Rios said via NBC News, adding that deputies were still determining whether the shooting was accidental.
Baldwin is one of the film's stars and also serves as a producer.