On Thursday, Oct. 21, up in the dusty foothills of Bonanza Creek Ranch, near Santa Fe, New Mexico, a fatal accident occurred on the set of the upcoming Western “Rust” starring Alec Baldwin. Baldwin, 63, was practicing for his part as the outlaw when he fired his prop gun, accidentally killing the film’s director of photography Halyna Hutchins, 42, and injuring director Joel Souza, 48.

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According to The New York Times, an affidavit was signed by Detective Joel Cano of the Santa Fe County sheriff’s office saying that an assistant director yelled “cold gun!” — which is a phrase used to specify that the gun doesn’t have any live rounds in it.

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But unfortunately Dave Halls, an assistant director, told investigators that he failed to inspect every round in every chamber of every gun on set. 

When Baldwin discharged the gun it shot and killed the film’s cinematographer and hospitalized the director, raising questions about firearm safety on film sets as this is not the first prop gun-related fatality to occur on a movie set.

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Prop departments usually use real guns, according to The Cut, but there is a law against using live ammunition. Models, cap guns and nonfunctional firearms are also always an option. 

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BBC News reported that productions usually use blanks to create the effect of firing a gun in the most realistic way possible and sometimes add gunpowder to enhance the effect of the bang onscreen. 

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But blanks can still do damage — particularly when they’re fired at a close range. Although production teams usually set strict rules about the use of prop firearms, accidents can still occur. Brandon Bruce Lee — son of actor and martial arts star Bruce Lee — was shot and killed when filming “The Crow” in 1993. There was a bullet stuck in a prop gun’s barrel that discharged along with a blank. Likewise, in 1984, actor Jon-Erik Hexum was filming ​​the CBS series “Cover Up” when he fractured his skull playing Russian roulette with a blank, dying days later.

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After the shocking incident, ​Baldwin tweeted, “Every film/TV set that uses guns, fake or otherwise, should have a police officer on set, hired by the production, to specifically monitor weapons safety.”

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Baldwin changed his Twitter to private after posting this opinion about the event because he was ordered not to discuss the case publicly and his lawyers told him he was hurting his case, according to AOL. 

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Baldwin expressed his grief, saying his heart is broken. “There are no words to convey my shock and sadness regarding the tragic accident that took the life of Halyna Hutchins, a wife, mother and deeply admired colleague of ours,” Baldwin wrote on Twitter. “I’m fully cooperating with the police investigation to address how this tragedy occurred and I am in touch with her husband, offering my support to him and his family.”

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This devastating accident will hopefully be the beginning of advanced prop firearm safety precautions for the film industry to ensure the complete protection of every crew member on set.