Actor and producer Alec Baldwin will be accused of manslaughter in the fatal 2021 shooting of a cinematographer on the set of a western in New Mexico Rustthe Santa Fe area attorney said in a statement Thursday.
Gunsmith Hannah Gutierrez Reed, who oversaw the guns used in the film, faces the same charge in the incident, according to DA Mary Carmack-Altwies. Charges will likely be filed by the end of January.
Halyna Hutchins, the 42-year-old cinematographer, and Joel Souza, the film’s director, “were shot when a firearm was discharged by Alec Baldwin” in October 2021, the county sheriff’s office said of Santa Fe at the time. Hutchins died after being rushed to an Albuquerque hospital, but Souza survived. No charges will be filed in connection with Souza’s injuries, the statement said.
Filmmaker Halyna Hutchins died in October 2021.
Photo by Mat Hayward/Getty Images for AMC Networks
Under New Mexico law, manslaughter is punishable by up to 18 months in prison. First assistant director David Halls has agreed to plead guilty to the charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon, the statement said.
Halls and Gutierrez Reed both wield the weapon before it was handed over to Baldwin on the day of the incident, the Wall Street Journal noted.
“The evidence clearly shows a pattern of criminal disregard for safety on the set of Rust,” Andrea Reeb, special prosecutor handling the case, said in the statement. “In New Mexico, there is no place for movie sets that don’t take our state’s commitment to gun safety and public safety seriously.”
Baldwin’s attorney, Luke Nikas, said the decision “distorts” the tragedy of Hutchins’ death, by a statement reported by Deadline.
“Mr. Baldwin had no reason to believe there was a live bullet in the gun – or anywhere on set,” Nikas said. “He relied on the professionals he was working with, who assured him the gun had no live ammunition.”
In a statement emailed to CNET, lawyers for Gutierrez Reed said the charges “are the result of a grossly flawed investigation and an inaccurate understanding of all the facts.”
“Hannah is, and always has been, very emotional and sad about this tragic accident. But she did not commit manslaughter,” attorneys Jason Bowles and Todd J. Bullion said. “We intend to reveal the full truth and believe Hannah will be cleared of wrongdoing by a jury.”
Representatives for Baldwin and Halls did not respond to requests for comment.
