Yahoo Finance Family Of Brandon Lee, Who Died In Prop Gun Accident, Voices 'Frustration' After Set Death
The family of the late actor Brandon Lee, who was killed in a prop gun accident on a movie set in 1993 at the age of 28, has expressed their horror and frustration at the latest deadly tragedy.
The son of martial arts legend Bruce Lee was killed when a live bullet was fired from a prop gun during filming of “The Crow.”
Now his family is reliving the pain after the death Thursday of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the New Mexico set of the movie “Rust.” She was shot by a prop gun discharged by actor Alec Baldwin, who was unaware the gun contained a live round, according to a search warrant filed in a Santa Fe court, The Associated Press reported.
An investigation is continuing. No charges had been filed by late Friday.
Director Joel Souza was wounded in the shooting. He was treated at a local hospital and released.
“It’s stirring up a lot of emotions — and frustration,” Brandon’s sister Shannon Lee told The Hollywood Reporter on Friday.
“My heart goes out to Alec Baldwin. I feel for the work he is going to have to do to process this and try to find some measure of peace around it. And even more so for the family of Halyna Hutchins,” she said. “It’s having your whole world flip upside down. There should be compassion for all the pain everyone is going through.”
Brandon Lee’s family also posted a message of support to Hutchins’ and Souza’s families.
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. 💔
— Brandon Bruce Lee (@brandonblee) October 22, 2021
Brandon Lee’s family — and others in the film industry — say that real guns should be banned from movie sets to avoid future injuries and deaths.
“I think that in this day and age with all the special effects that are possible and all of the technology, there is no reason to have a prop gun or a gun on a set that can fire a projectile of any sort,” said Shannon Lee.
“It is not necessary, and I would love to see some changes made industry-wide. My brother’s fiancée and I have been talking about it. I think we wish we had thought to do more 28 years ago, and we would love to do that now.”
There were “rules in place” on the set of “The Crow,” she noted. “Unfortunately, there was negligence of the rules.”
“I don’t want to speak to the incident on ‘Rust,’ but in Brandon’s accident, there were many rules that were not followed and corners that were cut, which led to the tragedy on that set. It did not have to happen,” she said.
“It is unfortunate that it is something like this that is bringing it back up to the forefront,” Lee added. “Hopefully one of the things that come out of this is it does lead to meaningful change.”
Baldwin described the killing as a “tragic accident.”
“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,” the actor said in a statement Friday.
“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. My heart is broken for her husband, their son, and all who knew and loved Halyna,” he said.
This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.
