Documentary film producer Errol Webber has said he 'hopes' Alec Baldwin is charged with manslaughter after accidentally shooting and killing a cinematographer.
On Thursday, October 21, when Baldwin accidentally discharged a prop firearm on the set of new Western movie Rust, killing a woman and injuring a man.
Per BBC News, the woman has been named as Halyna Hutchins, a 42-year-old director of photography, and the injured man is Joel Souza, the film's director.
Hutchins was transported via helicopter to the University of New Mexico Hospital, but was later pronounced dead, per Deadline.
Souza was taken by ambulance to Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center, but has since been discharged, actress Frances Fisher wrote on Twitter.
Baldwin issued a statement following the horror accident, saying that his "heart is broken".
Now, Webber has given his opinion on Twitter, writing: "Hopefully Alec Baldwin gets manslaughter at the very least.
"But knowing the Democrats and their penchant for protecting criminals, I wouldn't be surprised if he gets off with 10 hours of community service... If that."
His tweet was accompanied by a comment Baldwin made back in September 2017, which read: "I wonder how it must feel to wrongfully kill someone..."
Webber's tweet saw furious backlash in the comments section, as one person wrote: "You obviously don't know how film sets work. It's the AD (assistant director's) job to clear the weapon before use NOT the actor. Alec is also a victim of this mishap."
The producer then replied: "You are to treat all firearms, real, fake, toy, or prop, as you would a real gun with live ammo.
"While SOME responsibility should be borne by the armorer, ultimately, the responsibility lies with the person holding the gun, POINTING IT AT SOMEONE, and discharging the gun."
Webber's bold stance did not sit well with many social media users, including some famous faces who rushed to Baldwin's defense following the tragedy.
Among them, Debra Messing rushed to social media to defend the It's Complicated actor.
"A prop gun was handed to him. He used it in the scene. Then – a catastrophic event happened where Halnya Hutchins lost her life and Joel Souza was injured. I am praying for all of their families," Messing wrote.
Writer Caitie Delaney, who has worked on the show Rick and Morty, wrote after news of the incident broke: "Like obviously it’s the story but it is really not fair to have Alec Baldwin be the face of this tragedy. He wasn’t in charge of loading that gun. Safety on set needs to be taken so much more seriously."
While author Don Winslow wrote: "What happened on the set of the Alec Baldwin movie is a horrible tragedy. Truly heartbreaking. But since no one knows what happened YET please let’s wait for the investigation BEFORE we cast aspersions about something we don't know anything about."
Elsewhere, Elijah Wood paid tribute to Hutchins in a tweet, writing: "Absolutely horrifying and devastating news about cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins. My heart goes out to her family."
Alex Winter wrote: "Deepest condolences to the family and friends of Halyna Hutchins. Crew should never be unsafe on set and when they are there is always a clearly definable reason why. #IASolidarity"
Director James Gunn shared: "My greatest fear is that someone will be fatally hurt on one of my sets. I pray this will never happen. My heart goes out to all of those affected by the tragedy today on Rust, especially Halyna Hutchins & her family."