Alec Baldwin and the armorer on the set of “Rust” will be charged with involuntary manslaughter in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins in October 2021.
Baldwin fired the shot that killed Hutchins while preparing to film a scene in the church building of the Bonanza Creek Ranch near Santa Fe, N.M. The armorer, Hannah Gutierrez Reed, loaded the weapon.
Mary Carmack-Altwies, the Santa Fe prosecutor, announced the charges in a statement on Thursday.
Baldwin was holding a Colt .45 revolver, which he had been told was “cold,” meaning it contained only dummy rounds. But investigators found that the gun was loaded with one live bullet, which went through Hutchins’ torso and lodged in the shoulder of director Joel Souza.
Hutchins was airlifted to a hospital in Albuquerque, where she was pronounced dead later that day.
Carmack-Altwies submitted a request for $635,500 in state funding last year to pay for up to four criminal trials. She was granted half that amount. She also appointed Andrea Reeb as a special prosecutor to handle the case.
Baldwin has repeatedly argued that he is not to blame for the incident. His attorneys have alleged that three crew members and a weapons supplier were at fault for a chain of missteps that led to the shooting.
Baldwin has told interviewers that he did not pull the trigger, and that the gun went off when he let go of the hammer. An FBI forensic analysis determined that the gun was functioning normally, however.
The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office turned over its investigation to the prosecutor’s office in October, more than a year after the shooting took place.
Hutchins’ death has led to a broader conversation about set safety, though to date no new laws have been passed to tighten regulations.
Much of the investigation focused on Gutierrez Reed, the 24-year-old armorer. Gutierrez Reed was working as an armorer for just the second time, and her time was divided between that job and a job in props.
Baldwin and the film’s producers announced a legal settlement on Oct. 5 with Halyna Hutchins’ widower, Matthew Hutchins. Under the agreement, the producers plan to resume filming, and they hope to complete the film and submit it for cinematography awards.
Gmaddaus
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