American actor Alec Baldwin has fatally shot a woman on the set of his new movie Rust.

The victim was 42-year-old Halyna Hutchins, who was working on the set as director of photography. She died while being transported to the hospital by helicopter. The movie's director Joel Souza, 48, was also injured in the accident and is currently undergoing treatment at a hospital in Santa Fe.

68-year-old Alec Baldwin - who is best known for his role as Jack Donaghy on 30 Rock and more recently for his portrayal of Donald Trump on Saturday Night Live - was the man behind the prop gun's trigger, the sheriff's office has confirmed. According to the actor's spokesman, the incident involved the misfiring of a prop gun with blanks.

Reportedly, Baldwin went to the Santa Fe's sheriff office - who are investigating the incident - voluntarily and was allowed to leave after giving his statement.

“This investigation remains open and active,”  the Santa Fe sheriff's office said, speaking to the AFP news agency. “No charges have been filed in regard to this incident. Witnesses continue to be interviewed by detectives.”

Ms Hutchins was from Ukraine and, according to her personal website, grew up on a Soviet military base above the Arctic Circle. She previously worked as the director of photography for the 2020 film Archenemy and was named a 'rising star' by American Cinematographer magazine back in 2019.

Thursday's incident is not the first instance of a fatal shooting with a prop gun. Most notably, in 1993 Brandon Lee - son of the martial artist Bruce Lee - died after being accidentally shot by a live round misplaced in a prop gun while on set for the film The Crow.

I see more than enough pictures of Alec Baldwin, while y’all should honor and post more pictures of the cinematographic Halyna Hutchins who lost her life today in such a tragic accident.

Rest in peace, Halyna! My deepest condolences to her family and loved ones. pic.twitter.com/obNvFWrxfF

— Wirjil (@Wirjil) October 22, 2021