Alec Baldwin and ‘Rust’ armourer to be charged with involuntary manslaughter in movie shooting death

Alec Baldwin is set to be charged with involuntary manslaughter alongside the armourer of the movie Rust, relating to a shooting on the film’s set.

In October 2021, while filming the movie on location, Baldwin was holding a Colt .45-caliber pistol that fired a live round, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.

The actor and the movie’s armourer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, both face the criminal charge of involuntary manslaughter relating to the death of Hutchins, prosecutors in Santa Fe, New Mexico, said on Thursday (January 19) [as per NPR].

The First Judicial District Attorney for New Mexico, Mary Carmack-Altwies, announced her decision in a written statement shared to Facebook. The statement reads:

“Rust actor and producer Alec Baldwin and armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed will each be charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter in the death of Halyna Hutchins on the film’s Santa Fe County set in 2021 [sic].

“Assistant director David Halls has signed a plea agreement for the charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon. The terms include a suspended sentence and six months of probation. A copy of the plea agreement will be available after it has been filed with the court. No charges will be filed specific to the non-fatal shooting of Rust director Joel Souza.”

Carmack-Altwies is quoted directly in the statement as saying: “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. On my watch, no one is above the law, and everyone deserves justice.”

The special prosecutor for appointed by Carmack-Altwies, Andrea Reeb, said: “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.”

She added that a review of evidence in the case “clearly shows a pattern of criminal disregard for safety” on the set of Rust.

Neither Baldwin nor Gutierrez-Reed have commented on the latest development in the shooting of Hutchins at this time.

However, Baldwin has maintained that Hutchins died in a tragic accident. He has instead stated that he didn’t intentionally fire the weapon and had no idea that it held live ammunition when the film crew gathered to rehearse a scene for the film.

Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed are each being charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter, meaning they’re “charged in the alternative.” This means that prosecutors not only want a jury to decide if Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed are each guilty, but which type of involuntary manslaughter should apply to the events around Hutchins’ death.

In November of 2022, Baldwin filed a lawsuit for negligence and indemnification against a number of Rust crew members including Gutierrez-Reed, weapons and rounds supplier Seth Kenney, first assistant director David Halls and property master Sarah Zachry. All have previously denied responsibility for the fatal shooting.

The complaint from Baldwin’s lawyer Luke Nikas (reported at the time via Deadline) read: “This tragedy happened because live bullets were delivered to the set and loaded into the gun, Gutierrez-Reed failed to check the bullets or the gun carefully, Halls failed to check the gun carefully and yet announced the gun was safe before handing it to Baldwin, and Zachry failed to disclose that Gutierrez-Reed had been acting recklessly off set and was a safety risk to those around her.”

Prior to this, in December 2021, Baldwin claimed he “didn’t pull the trigger” on the gun which killed Hutchins. “The trigger wasn’t pulled,” Baldwin said. “I didn’t pull the trigger. I would never point a gun at anyone and pull a trigger at them, never.”

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