Alec Baldwin faces prison time for involuntary manslaughter on Rust shooting
Actor Alec Baldwin has been indicted by a grand jury in New Mexico on Friday on a new charge of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the Western film Rust.
The indictment revives a dormant case against the actor, who was initially charged with the same offence in January 2023, but the charges were dismissed by a judge in March 2023 due to insufficient evidence.
According to the prosecutors, Baldwin acted recklessly and violated several safety protocols when he fired a prop gun that contained a live round, killing Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza on October 21, 2021. They allege that Baldwin was distracted by his phone during firearms training, did not check the gun with the armorer, and pointed the gun at Hutchins without intending to shoot. They also claim that Baldwin knew the first rule of gun safety is never to point a gun at someone he did not intend to shoot.
Baldwin has denied responsibility for the shooting, saying that he did not pull the trigger and that the gun went off by itself. He also said that he was following the instructions of the assistant director, who handed him the gun and told him it was “cold”, meaning it had no live rounds. However, prosecutors said that photos and videos from the Rust shooting show Baldwin practicing drawing and firing the weapon with his finger on the trigger multiple times, and that the FBI found that the gun could not be fired without pulling the trigger.
The armorer of the film, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, has also been charged with involuntary manslaughter, as well as tampering with evidence. Prosecutors accuse her of leaving the set against protocol, failing to secure the firearms, and removing live rounds from the scene after the shooting. They also say that she was hired without adequate certification and experience, and that she had received complaints about her performance on previous projects.
If convicted, Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed could face up to 18 months in prison and a $5,000 fine. They will be tried by a jury, according to prosecutors. Baldwin’s lawyers have said that they will fight the charges and that the actor is “devastated” by the tragedy. Hutchins’ family has expressed their gratitude to the prosecutors for pursuing justice for their loved one.
