Fatal shot on set
US actor Alec Baldwin will face charges after a fatal accident on set over a year ago. In October 2021, he accidentally shot a camerawoman with a prop gun while filming a western. The armorer is also charged. In extreme cases, both could face imprisonment.
Prosecutors in the US state of New Mexico want to bring charges against Baldwin, the agency announced on Thursday after more than a year of investigations. Specifically, after the death of camerawoman Halyna Hutchins, he is accused of negligent homicide. Armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed is also on trial for the crime.
“After extensively studying the evidence and the law in the state of New Mexico, I have concluded that there is sufficient evidence to charge Alec Baldwin and another crew member of the film ‘Rust,'” said Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies above the law.” In New Mexico, involuntary manslaughter carries a penalty of up to 18 months in prison and a fine of $5,000.
Fatal mix-up
Baldwin accidentally shot and killed 42-year-old cinematographer Hutchins with a prop gun while filming the western Rust in October 2021. Director Joel Souza was hit in the shoulder and injured in the incident. The revolver had been loaded with a real cartridge instead of a prop cartridge. Baldwin had always denied responsibility for the fatal accident.
Out-of-court settlement in civil proceedings
In 2022, Baldwin, the lead actor and producer of the western, finally reached an out-of-court settlement in a civil suit with the dead man’s widower, Matthew Hutchins. “We all believe that Halyna’s death was a terrible accident,” he said at the time.
He has no interest in blaming Baldwin and the film producers. Instead, the cinematographer’s latest work should be acknowledged and the discontinued “Rust” shoot continued. Halyna Hutchins is survived by a husband and a son.
The US police completed their investigation into the tragic incident in October and handed over their results to the responsible district attorney Carmack-Altwies. She opted for an indictment.
