Joe Manganiello is paying tribute to cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. The 44-year-old actor took to Instagram Thursday evening to share a post honoring Hutchins, who was shot and killed in an on-set accident Thursday afternoon.
"I woke up to the messages and read the news and I am in shock. I was so lucky to have had @halynahutchins as my DP on Archenemy. She was an absolutely incredible talent and a great person," Manganiello wrote, alongside a black-and-white photo of the cinematographer operating a camera on set.
"She had such an eye and a visual style, she was the kind of cinematographer that you wanted to see succeed because you wanted to she what she could pull off next… and she was a fantastic person," he continued. "There was no amount of pressure she couldn’t handle. She was a great collaborator and an ally to anyone in front of her camera. Everyone who knew her was rooting for her."
Manganiello also expressed heartbreak over the nature of her death and the circumstances surrounding the accident.
"I can’t believe that this could happen in this day and age… gunfire from a prop gun could kill a crew member? This is a horrible tragedy. My heart goes out to her family and especially to her son. I am so sad today for everyone who knew her and worked with her…" he wrote.
Hutchins was fatally shot on the set of the Western Rust, after actor Alec Baldwin discharged a prop gun during production. Director Joel Souza was also struck and injured in the incident.
While uncommon, accidental deaths have been caused by prop guns using blank cartridges on film sets in the past. Actor Jon-Erik Hexum died from an inadvertent self-inflicted head injury caused by a blank on the set of the TV show Cover Up on Oct. 12, 1984.
Brandon Lee, the son of screen legend Bruce Lee, died after being shot with in improperly made blank round during the filming of The Crow on March 31, 1993.
On Thursday, Lee's sister Shannon Lee tweeted her condolences and expressed her heartache over the tragedy.
"Our hearts go out to the family of Halyna Hutchins and to Joel Souza and all involved in the incident on 'Rust',' She wrote. "No one should ever be killed by a gun on a film set. Period. 💔"
The Sante Fe, New Mexico Sheriff’s Department confirmed to ET Thursday evening that Baldwin fired the prop gun which lead to the fatal accident. Hutchins, 42, was transported by helicopter to University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque, according to authorities. She was pronounced dead by medical personnel at the hospital. Souza, 48, was receiving emergency medical care after being transported by ambulance to Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical center in Santa Fe.
The Sheriff’s Department tells ET, "This investigation remains open and active. No charges have been filed in regard to this incident. Witnesses continue to be interviewed by detectives."
It's unclear how the incident occurred or the circumstances surrounding the discharging of the prop gun.
Cinematographers Guild National President John Lindley and National Executive Director Rebecca Rhine released a statement to ET regarding the tragedy, sharing, "We received the devastating news this evening, that one of our members, Halyna Hutchins, the Director of Photography on a production called Rust in New Mexico died from injuries sustained on the set. The details are unclear at this moment, but we are working to learn more, and we support a full investigation into this tragic event. This is a terrible loss, and we mourn the passing of a member of our Guild’s family."
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