Priyanka Chopra condoles Halyna Hutchins’ death in prop gun firing incident: ‘No one should die on a film set’
Priyanka Chopra has expressed shock at the recent prop gun firing by Alec Baldwin on a movie set which killed the cinematographer and injured the director. A day before, Kangana Ranaut had condemned the incident and stressed on the need for ensuring safety on sets.
Sharing a picture of the deceased cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, Priyanka wrote on her Instagram Stories, “I am so shook. I cannot imagine what everyone involved in this tragedy is feeling. There are no words. No one should die on a film set. Period. My heart goes out to Halyna Hutchins family and everyone who knew her.” She ended the note with a broken heart emoji.
An assistant director, Dave Halls, grabbed a prop gun off a cart at a desert movie ranch and handed it to Alec Baldwin during a Thursday rehearsal for the Western film Rust, according to court records made public Friday.
“Cold gun,” Halls yelled, declaring the weapon didn’t carry live rounds and was ready to fire. But it wasn’t. When Baldwin pulled the trigger, he unwittingly killed 42-year-old cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounded director Joel Souza, who was standing behind her inside a wooden, chapel-like building.
Filmmaker Souza, who was shot in the shoulder, said in a statement to NBC News that he was grateful for the support he was receiving and gutted by the loss of Hutchins. “She was kind, vibrant, incredibly talented, fought for every inch and always pushed me to be better,” he said.
“There are no words to convey my shock and sadness regarding the tragic accident that took the life of Halyna Hutchins, a wife, mother and deeply admired colleague of ours. I’m fully cooperating with the police investigation,” Baldwin wrote on Twitter. “My heart is broken for her husband, their son, and all who knew and loved Halyna.”
Hutchins’ husband Matthew Hutchins posted on social media to mourn his wife’s death, ask for privacy for his family, and thank her friends and mentors at the American Film Institute, who he said “nurtured the success we had only just begun to see flourish.”