Alec Baldwin has formally been charged with involuntary manslaughter for the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of Rust. The film’s armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, has received the same charge.
The charges over the October 21, 2021 shooting were filed on Tuesday, January 31, after New Mexico District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies announced they were forthcoming on January 19. Both Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed are accused of criminal negligence that led to Hutchins’ death in the document filings.
The January 31 documents said Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed acted in “a negligent manner,” saying that the Colt .45 was not properly inspected, it was pointed directly at Hutchins (something that’s never supposed to happen on a set), Baldwin didn’t complete the required safety training, and that ongoing safety issues went unaddressed on set.
“On the day of the shooting alone, evidence shows that no less than a dozen acts, or omissions of recklessness occurred in the short time prior to lunch and the time of the shooting, and this does not include the reckless handling of the firearm by Baldwin,” the statement of probable cause said. “Baldwin, by act or omission or failure to act in his position as a producer directly contributed and/or failed to mitigate numerous reckless and dangerous actions during a very short time period,” it also noted.
The statement describes the believed sequence of events based on gathered evidence.
“The set-up was to be a close-up on Baldwin and the firearm, as he drew the weapon and pointed it,” it reads. “Halyna Hutchins and Joel Souza were viewing the practice scene on a monitor attached to the camera. Baldwin drew the revolver from the holster, pointed it at Halyna Hutchins, and fired the weapon. When reviewing the script and witness interviews for this particular scene and close-up shot, evidence indicates the scene/shot did not require the weapon to be fired. It was also determined by consultation with expert armorers that in a rehearsal, a plastic gun or replica gun should be used as no firing of blanks is required. However, Baldwin fired the single-action 45 long colt revolver resulting in the discharge of a projectile that struck and traveled through [the] right armpit area of Halyna Hutchins, exited her back (from the OMI’s official report), then struck Joel Souza in the right shoulder and lodged into his right back.”
“Finally, industry standards, protocols, and common firearm safety procedures on movie sets require the armorer, after conducting a safety check with the 1st assistant director, to conduct a second safety check with the actor to be handling the firearm,” the document adds. “This reckless violation of standards and firearm safety occurred two (2) times leading up to the shooting, and Baldwin failed to act to mitigate or correct the reckless safety violations, neither in his capacity as actor nor producer.”
Baldwin has not publicly commented on today’s charge. In previous statements, Baldwin insisted he did not pull the trigger on the firearm and that Gutierrez-Reed and others were responsible for making sure the weapon wasn’t loaded during that rehearsal.
“This decision distorts Halyna Hutchins’ tragic death and represents a terrible miscarriage of justice,” Baldwin’s attorney, Luke Nikas, said when the charges were announced on January 19. “We will fight these charges, and we will win.”
Added Gutierrez-Reed’s attorney: “We intend to bring the full truth to light and believe Hannah will be exonerated of wrongdoing by a jury.”
Gutierrez-Reed previously told police that she made sure the rounds in the gun were dummies before handing it to first assistant director David Halls (per Reuters), calling it a “cold gun” (aka safety compliances were met and no explosive rounds were inside). On December 13, Halls testified that Gutierrez-Reed was the one who handed the weapon to Baldwin and that he never called it a “cold gun.”
Halls has signed a plea deal to a misdemeanor charge of the negligent use of a weapon and is expected to cooperate with the prosecution.
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