Actor Alec Baldwin and several members of the crew involved in the Western Rust have been charged in connection with the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. Prosecutors in New Mexico have now confirmed that Baldwin and armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed have been charged with two counts each of involuntary manslaughter following the incident on the set of Rust, which tragically saw cinematographer Halyna Hutchins shot and killed when the actor fired a gun being used as a prop during scene preparation.
“After a thorough review of the evidence and the laws of the state of New Mexico, I have determined that there is sufficient evidence to file criminal charges against Alec Baldwin and other members of the ‘Rust’ film crew,” Mary Carmack-Altwies, the district attorney for Santa Fe County, said in a statement. “On my watch, no one is above the law, and everyone deserves justice.”
It has also now been revealed that Assistant Director David Halls has signed a plea deal and will be charged with negligent use of a deadly weapon, the terms of which include a suspended sentence and six months probation.
Baldwin was handed the gun on the set of Rust by Halls, with the actor being told that the firearm did not contain ammunition. Further investigation went on to discover five live rounds in with dummy rounds. Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed will be “charged in the alternative” with the two counts of manslaughter, meaning that a jury will decide whether they are guilty and to what degree.
“If any one of these three people—Alec Baldwin, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed or David Halls—had done their job, Halyna Hutchins would be alive today. It’s that simple,” Andrea Reeb, the special prosecutor appointed by the district attorney to the case, said in a statement. “The evidence clearly shows a pattern of criminal disregard for safety on the ‘Rust’ film set. In New Mexico, there is no room for film sets that don’t take our state’s commitment to gun safety and public safety seriously.”
Halyna Hutchins Was Killed on the Set of Rust in October 2021
The news comes over a year after the shooting of Halyna Hutchins, which also saw Rust director Joel Souza wounded by the same projectile that was fired from the prop gun. The incident has since been investigated by the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office, the New Mexico First Judicial District Attorney, and the New Mexico Occupational Health and Safety Bureau, with the FBI forensic testing and investigation of the firearm ultimately determining that the revolver could not have been fired without a trigger pull. Something which Alec Baldwin denies.
"The man who is the principal safety officer of the set of the film declared the gun was safe when he handed it to me," Baldwin said following the FBI investigation. "The man who was the principal safety officer of the film declared in front of the entire assemblage, 'This is a cold gun.' Now, why did he say that if he didn't know and hadn't checked?"
Charges will be formally filed by the district attorney’s office before the end of January, with a preliminary hearing being scheduled 60 days after filing.