In the wake of the fatal accidental shooting on the set of “Rust” on Thursday, director Joel Souza made a statement yesterday, his first public comments on the situation.
As E online reported, the 42-year-old director of photography, Halyna Hutchins, died after being shot by a prop gun that cast member and co-producer, Alec Baldwin, fired on the set of the period western, on Thursday, Oct. 21. Police are investigating the incident.
Souza, 48, who is recovering from injuries he sustained in the accident, said in a statement to NBC News, "I am gutted by the loss of my friend and colleague, Halyna. She was kind, vibrant, incredibly talented, fought for every inch, and always pushed me to be better. My thoughts are with her family at this most difficult time."
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He continued, "I am humbled and grateful by the outpouring of affection we have received from our filmmaking community, the people of Santa Fe, and the hundreds of strangers who have reached out...It will surely aid in my recovery."
Souza made no mention of Alec Baldwin. The actor made his own statement on Friday on Twitter, saying, among other sentiments, "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.”
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Matthew Hutchins, husband to Halyna Hutchins and father of their nine-year-old son, Andros, later confirmed he had spoken to the actor, who he said was "being very supportive."
On Saturday, Matthew also posted a photo of his family on Instagram, simply captioned, “We miss you.”
On Friday in a similar Facebook post he added, “Thank you to Halyna's friends and mentors at AFI for establishing a scholarship fund to honor her memory and support women aspiring to a career in cinematography. You always treated her with respect, as a member of the AFI family, and spoke highly of her talent in life, which nurtured the success we had only just begun to see flourish. I would like to ask that anyone seeking to honor her memory with donations direct your giving to this scholarship fund. Thank you."
He also tweeted, “Halyna inspired us all with her passion and vision, and her legacy is too meaningful to encapsulate in words. Our loss is enormous, and we ask that the media please respect my family's privacy as we process our grief. We thank everyone for sharing images and stories of her life."