Baldwin was holding a gun in his hand while rehearsing a scene, when a shot was fired, killing Halyna Hutchins.
Actor-producer Alec Baldwin was charged Thursday with “involuntary manslaughter” in the fatal shooting on the set of “Rust,” the Santa Fe district attorney’s office said.
“’Rust’ actor and producer Alec Baldwin and gunsmith Hannah Gutierrez-Reed will each be charged with two counts of manslaughter in the death of Halyna Hutchins on the set of the 2021 film in Santa County. Faith,” announced Mary Carmack-Altwies, New Mexico’s First Judicial District Attorney, Thursday morning.
The film’s assistant director, David Halls, has signed a plea agreement “on the charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon,” the prosecutor’s office also announced in its statement, adding that the terms of that agreement include six months Suspended probation.
No charges will be filed against director Joel Souza, the statement said.
In a written statement, Baldwin’s attorney, Chloe Melas, said the decision “distorts the tragic death of Halyna Hutchins.”
“Mr. Baldwin had no reason to believe that there was a live bullet in the gun, or anywhere on the film set. He relied on the professionals he worked with, who assured him that the gun had no bullets. We will fight these charges and we will win,” he stated.
For his part, the lawyer for the gun company Gutiérrez Reed, Jason Bowles, issued a statement in which he stated that “they are absolutely wrong about Hannah: we expect a jury to find her not guilty and to conclude that she did not commit manslaughter. She has been shocked by the tragedy, but she has not committed any crime.”
In March 2022, Gutierrez Reed said she was not called to inspect the gun that ultimately fired a live bullet, fatally wounding Hutchins. She issued the statement in response to a legal filing in which Baldwin said Hutchins told her to cock the gun.
“Mr. Baldwin knew that he could not point a firearm at crew members under any circumstances and that he had a duty to protect his fellow crew members,” Gutierrez Reed said.
“However, he pointed the gun at Halyna before the fatal incident against all rules and common sense,” he added.
The facts
Baldwin was holding a gun in hand while rehearsing a scene for the film at New Mexico’s Bonanza Creek Ranch in October 2021 when a shot was fired, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza.
Since then, the episode has unleashed a whirlwind of allegations of negligence by those involved. Baldwin maintains that he did not pull the trigger.
In the postmortem inquest summary into Hutchins’ death, which was formally signed by New Mexico’s chief medical investigator, the cause of death is listed as “gunshot wound to the chest” and the manner of death is listed as “accident.”
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