Alec Baldwin charged for manslaughter over fatal shooting on ‘Rust’ set. The Santa Fe County, New Mexico, district attorney’s office has charged American producer Alec Baldwin with a felony in relation to the deadly shooting that took place in 2021 on the “Rust” set.
Alec Baldwin was officially charged on Tuesday with involuntary manslaughter in the shooting death of a cinematographer on the Rust set in New Mexico, according to CNN. The Santa Fe-area district attorney made the announcement in a statement.
DA Involuntary manslaughter charges have also been brought against Mary Carmack-Altwies, the armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed who was in charge of the weapons used in the Western movie. Attorneys for both defendants have previously argued that their clients are blameless.
The associate director of the film, David Halls, has allegedly been charged with reckless use of a dangerous weapon, according to the district attorney’s office. Halls entered a plea agreement, which is currently awaiting approval, and filed a plea of not guilty.
Halyna Hutchins, 42, the director, and Joel Souza, 48, the director of the movie Rust, “were shot when a pretend firearm was discharged by Alec Baldwin” in October 2021.
Hutchins died after being transferred to an Albuquerque hospital, but Souza survived. No legal action will be pursued in relation to Souza’s injuries.
Both Gutierrez-Reed, 25, and Baldwin, 64, are accused with two separate forms of involuntary manslaughter.
A jury will determine not only whether it finds Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed guilty, but also whether definition of involuntary manslaughter, if any, applies, according to the district attorney’s office.
Fourth-degree felonies are included in both types of charges. One is subject to a $5,000 fine and up to 18 months in jail under New Mexico law, although proof of carelessness is necessary.
Reasonable to the use of a gun, the second type of manslaughter charge, reckless disregard of safety, “without due caution and circumspection,” carries a required five-year jail sentence.
On the day of the shooting, Halls and Gutierrez Reed both touched the gun before it was transferred to Baldwin.
In a statement earlier this month announcing the intention to pursue charges, Andrea Reeb, the case’s special prosecutor, stated: “The evidence plainly demonstrates a pattern of criminal disregard for safety on the Rust film set.”
No filming locations in New Mexico are allowed that don’t respect the seriousness with which our state takes the issue of public safety and gun safety.
Baldwin has insisted he was unaware a live cartridge was in the rifle he discharged during a rehearsal.
