On October 21, 2021, during production on the set of the film Rust, she was accidentally shot and killed by a bullet from a real gun being used as a movie prop.

[29][30] Mortimer had said of her, that her "tastes and sensibility of what is cinematic were a huge asset for executing our style"[31] and that "her AFI training and her skill with the math of LUT settings gave us the best texture I've found yet in shooting digital".

[41][42] On October 21, 2021, Hutchins was working as director of photography on the set of the Western film Rust, near La Cienega, New Mexico.

While preparing for a scene, actor Alec Baldwin discharged a Pietta .45 Colt revolver[43] used as a prop,[44] fatally wounding her and injuring director Joel Souza.

[50][51] On February 15, 2022, it was reported that the family of Hutchins had filed a lawsuit against Baldwin and other crew members of the film Rust, alleging that her wrongful death on the set was caused by irresponsible behavior and cost-cutting.

[53] On January 19, 2023, Rust first assistant director David Halls pled guilty to negligent use of a deadly weapon, and received a suspended sentence and six months of probation.

[54] On March 31, 2023, Halls pleaded no contest to an additional misdemeanor charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon, for which he received a sentence of six months of unsupervised probation, a $500 fine and 24 hours of community service.

[61] On July 12th, 2024, a judge dismissed the case against Alec Baldwin with prejudice following the revelation that the prosecution withheld evidence from the defense.

[62] Shortly after the criminal case against Baldwin was dismissed, lawyers for Hutchins' widower and parents announced they vow to seek civil litigation against the actor.

[67] Eric Kripke, showrunner of the American superhero TV series The Boys, similarly vowed to ban blanks and guns on his show.

[68] Less than two hours after Hutchins' death, filmmaker Bandar Albuliwi, a former AFI Conservatory Directing fellow classmate (class of 2010), proposed a ban on real guns on film and television sets.

He created a petition for "Halyna's Law" on Change.org, which was signed by actors Olivia Wilde, Dwayne Johnson, Ariana DeBose, Julianne Moore, Anna Paquin, Elijah Wood, Lena Dunham and Ava DuVernay.