Actor Alec Baldwin and set armourer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed have been charged with involuntary manslaughter for the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the Western film Rust in 2021, a New Mexico prosecutor's spokesperson has said.
Alec Baldwin's "reckless deviation from known standards and practice and protocol" directly caused the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, the Santa Fe District Attorney’s Office has alleged.
In a report, the DA alleged the actor had shown "wilful disregard" for the safety of others in the days leading up to the incident on the Rust movie set in New Mexico.
Baldwin was not present for "mandatory" firearms training, instead undergoing a 30-minute on-set session, during which he was distracted by a phone call to his family, the DA said.
District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies had announced on 19 January that she would file the charges by month's end.
The announcement followed months of speculation as to whether she had evidence that Baldwin showed criminal disregard for safety when a revolver with which he was rehearsing fired a live round that killed Hutchins.
Heather Brewer, a spokesperson for the prosecutor's office, said the district attorney had filed the charges against Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed.
A probable cause statement accompanying the charges named Baldwin as both an actor and producer on the film and said: "On the day of the shooting alone, evidence shows that no less than a dozen acts, or omissions of recklessness, occurred in the short time prior to lunch and the time of the shooting, and this does not include the reckless handling of the firearm by Baldwin."
The 30 Rock actor has denied responsibility for the shooting on the set in Santa Fe, saying he cocked the revolver but never pulled the trigger and it was the job of Gutierrez-Reed and other weapons professionals to ensure it was unloaded.
Gutierrez-Reed said she checked the rounds she loaded into the gun were dummies before handing it to first assistant director Dave Halls. Halls handed it to Baldwin, telling him it was a 'cold gun', meaning it did not contain an explosive charge, according to police.
Halls has signed a plea deal for a misdemeanour charge and is expected to cooperate with the prosecution.
On 13 December, Halls testified to New Mexico's worker safety bureau that Gutierrez-Reed handed the gun to Baldwin and that he never declared the Pietta reproduction Colt .45 a 'cold gun'.
Industry-wide firearms safety guidelines instruct actors to assume a firearm is loaded with blank ammunition.
Live ammunition is strictly forbidden on sets.
Source: Reuters
