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Brandon Lee’s family speaks out after news of Alec Baldwin gun misfire

Brandon Lee’s family speaks out after news of Alec Baldwin gun misfire

The family of late actor Brandon Lee have spoken out after cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was fatally shot when Alec Baldwin “discharged” a gun on the set of his film Rust.

A prop firearm discharged by the veteran actor killed his director of photography and injured his director Joel Souza on Thursday afternoon.

Hutchins, 42, was airlifted to hospital, where she was pronounced dead by medical personnel, authorities said. Souza is undergoing treatment for his injuries.

Who was Brandon Lee and what was his background?

Brandon Lee – the son of late action star Bruce Lee - was killed in 1993 in similar circumstances. The 28-year-old actor died on the set of The Crow after an actor fired a prop gun that he believed to be loaded with blanks.

The gun was supposed to have fired a blank, but a post mortem examination found a .44-calibre bullet lodged near his spine.

Lee’s sister, Shannon Lee, wrote on Twitter on Friday: “Our hearts go out to the family of Halyna Hutchins and to Joel Souza and all involved in the incident on Rust.

“No one should ever be killed by a gun on a film set. Period.”

Social media users had noted the similarity between the two tragedies.

Sharing a news story about Ms Hutchins’ death, one Twitter user wrote: “Everyone of my generation immediately thought of Brandon Lee and this is a horrifying situation.”

Photographs published by The Santa Fe New Mexican newspaper show an emotional Baldwin doubled over and apparently in tears outside the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office.

The incidents that killed Lee and Hutchins are part of a long history of tragedies on film sets.

In 1984, actor Jon-Erik Hexum died after shooting himself in the head with a prop gun blank while pretending to play Russian roulette with a .44 Magnum on the set of the television series Cover Up.

Meanwhile, Dwayne Johnson led tributes to Ms Hutchins on Friday after her tragic death.

He wrote on Instagram: “I am so so sorry. Rest easy. My love and strength to your family.”

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