New Mexico prosecutors announced Thursday that actor and producer Alec Baldwin has been charged with involuntary manslaughter in the 2021 fatal shooting on the set of the western movie Rust. The gunman who supervised the firearms on the set, Hannah Gutierrez-Reid, is also charged with manslaughter.
Baldwin was holding a gun during a rehearsal when it fired, killing cameraman Halina Hutchins.
“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,” said District Attorney Mary Carmack. Altwies said in a statement released Thursday morning. “In my day, no one is above the law and everyone deserves justice.”
Hutchins was shot and wounded while preparing for a scene at a ranch outside Santa Fe on October 21, 2021. Baldwin had pointed a gun at Hutchins when the gun went off, killing her and injuring director Joel Souza.
Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed are charged with two counts of first-degree manslaughter, a fourth-degree felony punishable by up to a year and a half in prison and a $5,000 fine.
Both charges stem from the shooting of Hutchins, Carmack-Althuis said. No charges have been filed in the shooting of Souza.
Baldwin’s attorney, Luke Nikas, called the charges a “terrible miscarriage of justice.”
“Mr. Baldwin had no reason to believe there was a live bullet in the gun — or anywhere on the set,” Nikas said. “He relied on the professionals he worked with who assured him that the gun did not have live ammunition. We will fight these charges and win.”
In addition to the charges, Carmack-Althuis announced a plea agreement with Assistant Principal David Halls to a charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon. Under the agreement, Halls will serve a suspended sentence and six months of probation.
“If any of these three people — Alec Baldwin, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed or David Halls — had done their job, Halina Hutchins would be alive today,” Andrea Reeb, the special prosecutor assigned to the case, said in a statement. – It’s so simple.
Alec Baldwin on the set of “Rust” in New Mexico. (Instagram/Alec Baldwin)
Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza, who led the initial investigation into Hutchins’ death, described “some degree of neglect” on the set. But he left decisions on potential criminal charges up to prosecutors after presenting the results of a yearlong investigation in October. This report does not specify how the live rounds ended up on the set.
Taking control of the investigation, Carmack-Althuis received an emergency request for $300,000 so the state could pay for a special prosecutor, a special investigator and other experts and staff.
Baldwin – known for his roles on “30 Rock” and “The Hunt for Red October” and his impression of former President Donald Trump on “Saturday Night Live” – described Hutchins’ killing as a “tragic accident.”
He tried to clear his name by suing people involved in the handling and delivery of the loaded gun that was given to him on set. Baldwin, also a “Rust” co-producer, said he was told the gun was safe.
In his lawsuit, Baldwin said that while he was working on camera angles with Hutchins during a rehearsal for a scene, he pointed the gun in her direction and pulled back and released the gun’s trigger, which discharged.
Director Halina Hutchins at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival Matt Hayward/Getty Images
The New Mexico Medical Examiner’s Office ruled the shooting an accident after completing an autopsy and reviewing law enforcement reports.
The New Mexico Bureau of Occupational Safety and Health imposed the maximum fine on Rust Movie Productions based on a scathing account of safety lapses, including testimony that production managers took little or no action to address two blank cartridge misfires on set before the fatal shooting.
Rust Movie Productions continues to challenge the basis for a $137,000 fine from regulators, who say production managers on set failed to follow standard industry protocols for firearms safety.
The gunsmith, Gutierrez Reed, was the subject of much of the scrutiny in the case, along with an independent ammunition supplier. An attorney for Gutierrez Reed said the gunman did not put a live round in the gun that killed Hutchins and believes she was the victim of sabotage. Authorities said they found no evidence of that.
Investigators initially found 500 rounds of ammunition on the set on the outskirts of Santa Fe – a mix of blanks, dummies and what appeared to be live rounds. Industry experts said live shows should never be staged.
In April 2022, the Santa Fe Sheriff’s Department released a set of files, including lapel camera video of the mortally wounded Hutchins passing in and out of consciousness as an evacuation helicopter arrived. Witness interviews, emails, text conversations, ammunition inventories and hundreds of photographs round out the collection of evidence.
State workplace safety regulators said immediate gun safety concerns were resolved when filming on “Rust” was halted, and that the return to filming in New Mexico would be accompanied by new safety inspections.
Hutchins’ family — widower Matthew Hutchins and his son Andros — settled a lawsuit against the producers under a settlement that aims to resume filming with Matthew as an executive producer.
“Rust” has been mired in controversy since its inception in early October 2021. Seven crew members walked off the set just hours before the fatal shooting amid disagreements over working conditions.
Hutchins’ death affected negotiations over safety provisions in the film crew’s union contracts with Hollywood producers and encouraged other filmmakers to choose computer-generated images of gunfire instead of real guns with blanks to minimize the risks.
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