Actor Alec Baldwin was officially charged with involuntary manslaughter on Tuesday afternoon over the shooting death in October 2021 of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the movie set of “Rust,” according to court records.
Santa Fe-area District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies also filed involuntary manslaughter charges against Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the person allegedly responsible for handling guns on the movie set.
The DA’s office said in a statement, “Negligent use of a deadly weapon charges were also filed against ‘Rust’ assistant director David Halls, who has pleaded no contest and has entered into a plea agreement that is pending approval.”
The probable cause statement filed by prosecutors said that 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,” the document said. “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.”
Prosecutors portrayed Baldwin as not taking firearm safety seriously on set, saying that he was “not present for required firearms training prior to the commencement of filming.” The document also said that Reed had indicated that Baldwin needed more training in how to properly handle firearms.
When Baldwin reportedly showed up to a training session, he was “distracted and talking on his cell phone to his family during the training,” prosecutors said. “The photos and videos clearly show Baldwin, multiple times, with his finger inside of the trigger guard and on the trigger, while manipulating the hammer and while drawing, pointing, and holstering the revolver.”
Investigators said that Baldwin had extensive experience in the film industry with firearms, yet he failed to demand that at least two safety checks were performed prior to the shooting.
Prosecutors called Baldwin “reckless” and said that he knew that he should not point a gun at someone who he did not intend on shooting. Investigators suggested that he also knew that a gun should always be assumed to be loaded. Investigators said that if he had just followed those two basics of firearms handling, this tragedy would not have occurred.