On Thursday, a prosecutor from the Santa Fe district announced that Alec Baldwin and armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed will face charges of involuntary manslaughter in connection to the death of Halyna Hutchins that occurred during the filming of the movie Rust.
“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,” Mary Carmack-Altwies said.
“On my watch, no one is above the law, and everyone deserves justice.”
According to reports, both Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed will face charges of involuntary manslaughter in connection to the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
Assistant director David Halls, meanwhile, has reportedly entered into a plea agreement and will plead guilty to negligent use of a deadly weapon. As part of the plea, he will be placed on probation for six months.
The incident occurred in 2021, during the setup for a scene on the set of the western film Rust. It is alleged that Baldwin was holding a gun and pointing it at Hutchins when it discharged, resulting in a fatal wound for Hutchins and an injury to director Joel Souza.
Alec Baldwin was charged with involuntary manslaughter for fatally shooting cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on set of the film “Rust,” and faces up to 5 years in jail.
The armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed faces the same charges. Both deny knowing there were live rounds in the gun. pic.twitter.com/dSDNcAhGNu
— AJ+ (@ajplus) January 19, 2023
The filming process was put on hold as an inquiry was launched. During this time, Baldwin made efforts to absolve himself of any blame. He granted an interview with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos, during which he denied any involvement in Hutchins’ death.
Additionally, he took legal action against those who were in charge of the supposed safe firearm that caused the incident.
“No. No. I feel that… someone is responsible for what happened and I can’t say who that is, but I know it’s not me. Honest to God, if I felt that I was responsible, I might’ve killed myself if I thought that I was responsible. And I don’t say that lightly.”
After the shooting incident, a thorough investigation was conducted and it was revealed that there were 500 rounds of ammunition at the scene. These rounds included a combination of blanks, dummy rounds, and some that appeared to be live rounds.
BREAKING: Alec Baldwin and armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed will each be charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter for the 2021 fatal shooting on the New Mexico set of the film “Rust,” officials say. @LinseyDavis has the latest. https://t.co/TugbcNzcgE pic.twitter.com/VmGiDlrbqn
— ABC News (@ABC) January 19, 2023
The authorities also released information and evidence that depicted the events that occurred immediately after Hutchins was shot. In October 2022, Hutchins’ family reached a settlement in a wrongful death lawsuit against Baldwin and other parties involved in the film production.
“I have no interest in engaging in recriminations or attribution of blame (to the producers or Mr. Baldwin),” Matthew Hutchins said in a statement at the time. “All of us believe Halyna’s death was a terrible accident. I am grateful that the producers and the entertainment community have come together to pay tribute to Halyna’s final work.”
This was a heartbreaking turn of events that should never happen again. Let us know what you think about this story in the comment section below.
