Syracuse film leader calls Alec Baldwin incident 'tragedy,' discusses safety of prop guns

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Alec Baldwin said he is heartbroken after accidentally shooting and killing a crew member with a prop gun on the Western film set of 'Rust' Thursday.

42-year-old Halyna Hutchins, the film's director of photography, was killed and the film's director Joel Souza, 48, was injured after the firearm was discharged on the New Mexico set.

A spokesperson for the actor said there was an accident on the set involving the misfire of a prop gun with blanks. Baldwin is known to have family ties to Central New York.

MORE: Alec Baldwin breaks silence after firing prop firearm, killing director of photography

"It’s terrible to hear anything like that happen on set and obviously you feel for everyone on that crew especially the cinematographer that passed away," Eric Vinal with Visit Syracuse said. "Everyone on that set has to be extremely heartbroken and distraught."

Vinal, the vice president of film, tv, and entertainment for the company, said this is a huge tragedy. He said it's not too often incidents like this happen. Another notable set tragedy involved the son of Bruce Lee, Brandon, in 1993. He died while filming 'The Crow' involving a prop gun. His sister put out the following tweet Friday:

Vinal said there are different types of prop guns. From rubber guns to ones that don't use bullets at all, he said it's hard to say what happened Thursday. He said blank shells are used to produce the sound and effect of a real firearm.

While not often used in Syracuse films he said, they will notify police if a prop gun is on set. Medics will be on standby and other protocols will be taken.

"The gun it’s evaluated, it’s looked at by a number of people. If it’s going to be shot it’s shot in front of people to see how things are going to work," he said.

He said this could make the film industry more cautious when using prop guns. For their films, he said they often use post-production as a way to create the effect without having to use any bullets.

No charges have been filed against Baldwin.

Many have shared their sorrow on CNY Central's Facebook page.

"Prayers to everyone involved. So sad. I can’t imagine," one wrote.