SANTA FE, N.M. (KRQE) – Thursday’s fatal shooting on the set of the film ‘Rust’ has come as a shock to the film industry. Now, one film director is pushing for change to make sure no more tragic gun accidents happen on the set of TV or film productions.
Related Coverage
- Rust shooting investigation files released by Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office
- Alec Baldwin’s attorney responds to New Mexico’s citation
- New Mexico fines ‘Rust’ production nearly $137K over Baldwin shooting
- Alec Baldwin shares message defending ‘Rust’ conditions
- Warrant reveals gun not thoroughly checked before movie set shooting; sheriff not ruling out charges
- Crew member who gave Baldwin gun subject of prior complaint
- Halyna Hutchins: What we know about the cinematographer killed by prop gun
- Sheriff: Alec Baldwin discharged prop gun on movie set that killed 1, injured another
While questions remain into what exactly happened, writer and film director Bandar Albuliwi says there is no excuse for something like this to happen in the 21st century. “I mean with the technology we have these days if we can build worlds like Avatar, we can CGI a damn bullet coming out of a gun,” said Albuliwi.
Albuliwi started a Change.org petition just hours after the news came in that actor Alec Baldwin fired a prop gun that kill the film’s director of photography, Halyna Hutchins, and injured its director Joel Souza. Albuliwi, who went to the same film school as Hutchins, says this was her first major feature film and it was taken from her.
Albuliwi is now proposing ‘Halyna’s Law’ which would ban the use of firearms on the set of TV or film productions. “What I’m feeling, I’m feeling anger. I’m feeling somebody needs to be held liable for this or responsible. We can not have Halyna just have died in vain. Let’s make her life save many others moving forward,” Albuliwi said.
The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office is back on set on Friday talking to witnesses and collecting evidence to try and figure out what exactly went wrong. No charges have been filed at this time. At last check, the Change.org petition had more than 4,200 signatures.
This is not the first time a prop weapon has killed someone on a movie set, the most famous victim being Brandon Lee, son of martial arts star Bruce Lee, who died while filming the 1993 movie, ‘The Crow.’ Thursday’s shooting has inspired a surge in visitors to Lee’s grave in Seattle, Washington including a New Mexico woman.
“Because we are from New Mexico and we are here at the moment. It’s just a crazy coincidence, just the connection between both of them and how they both were unfortunate events. That’s just we wanted to come even more because of that,” said Lupita Serrano, a New Mexican visiting Seattle.
