Shannon Lee, the sister of Brandon Lee, has weighed in on the “Rust” prop-gun tragedy, which killed 43-year-old cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. Brandon Lee was killed in 1993 after being shot by a prop gun on the set of “The Crow.”
“Our hearts go out to the family of Halyna Hutchins and to Joel Souza and all involved in the incident on ‘Rust,’” Shannon Lee posted early Friday morning from the official Twitter account honoring her brother. “No one should ever be killed by a gun on a film set. Period.”
According to law enforcement statements, Hutchins (pictured above, left) was shot around 1:50 p.m. local time Thursday by a prop gun that was discharged by actor-producer Alec Baldwin. She died of her injuries after being airlifted to University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque. The film’s director, Joel Souza, was also injured and hospitalized in the incident, Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Department spokesperson Juan Rios said.
The investigation into the deadly incident is ongoing, the sheriff’s department said; no charges have been filed.
Hutchins’ director of photography credits include work on the indies “Snowbound” (2017), “Darlin’” (2019), the Joe Manganiello sci-fi drama “Archenemy” (2019), the Brian Geraghty cop drama “Blindfire” (2020) and “The Mad Hatter” (2021). She also worked on multiple episodes of the BET+ series “A Luv Tale: The Series.”
A representative for “Rust” production did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment on Souza’s current status Friday, but “Rust” actress Frances Fisher tweeted shortly after midnight on the West Coast, “Our director Joel Souza is out of hospital.”
Brandon Lee, pictured above (right) in costume and makeup for “The Crow,” was the son of famed martial artist and actor Bruce Lee. Brandon Lee was 28 years old when he was shot and killed by an improperly loaded firearm on that film set.
See Shannon Lee’s tweet below.