Alec Baldwin is “devastated” after accidentally killing a cinematographer and injuring the director on the set of his New Mexico film, sources close to the actor told The Post.
Insiders say Baldwin is so distraught after his prop weapon accidentally discharged on Thursday that there are immediate concerns about his mental health.
A source close to the star said, “Alec is absolutely devastated, distraught, in shock and in disbelief how this could have happened.
“Yes, he can be hot-headed, but deep down Alec has a very good heart.
“But he’s a fragile guy, and we don’t know how he will ever come to terms with this.”
The tragic accident happened Thursday afternoon while Baldwin was filming Western film “Rust” at Bonanza Creek Ranch in Sante Fe.
Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, 42, died and director, Joel Souza, 48, was injured after they were both struck when the gun discharged, the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office said. Souza has since been discharged from hospital.
After the shooting, a distraught Baldwin, 63, repeatedly asked why he was given a “hot gun” – meaning a gun with real ammunition – after his prop weapon discharged, witnesses have claimed.
“In all my years, I’ve never been handed a hot gun,” the actor allegedly kept saying. But experts say it is more likely the prop gun was loaded with blanks and had shrapnel stuck inside it.
Baldwin was also pictured in tears as he spoke into a cellphone outside the sheriff’s office, where he was questioned, on Thursday.
The source added, “He shouldn’t have been there alone, for the sake of his mental health. He just accidentally killed someone.”
Plus, the source added, Baldwin may now be haunted by an old tweet about a California cop shooting dead a violent suspect — in which the actor asked what it felt like to “kill someone,” the source said.
Baldwin had tweeted in 2017 after Huntington Beach police officer Eric Esparza was caught on video shooting dead Dillan Tabares, 27, who’d punched him and reached for his gun.
“I wonder how it must feel to wrongfully kill someone,” he wrote of the police shooting that was later ruled to have been justified.
The source continued, “This is a very difficult and devastating situation, its going to take a lot of time to even begin to come to terms with this. The woman who was killed was so loved and talented, it is so tragic.”
The film production is expected to be shut down for some time as the police investigation continues and lengthy legal proceedings get underway.
“Alec is a producer on the film, so he’s going to face some complicated lawsuits. But he’s not thinking about that right now, he’s just so devastated,” the source added.
A rep for Baldwin didn’t immediately get back to us.