Alec Baldwin has been charged with involuntary manslaughter in connection with the fatal shooting on the set of Rust, New Mexico district attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies announced on January 19. Criminal charges come a little more than a year after the October 2021 incident that left director of photography Halyna Hutchins dead. Director Joel Souza suffered nonfatal injuries in the shooting. The on-set armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, also faces involuntary-manslaughter charges.
“If any one of these three people — Alec Baldwin, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, or David Halls — had done their job, Halyna Hutchins would be alive today,†special prosecutor Andrea Reeb said in a statement. “It’s that simple.â€
Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed will each be charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter for Hutchins’s death. David Halls, the film’s assistant director, signed a plea agreement for the charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon and agreed to a suspended sentence and six months of probation, according to a statement from the DA. No charges will be filed over the nonfatal shooting of Souza.
“This decision distorts Halyna Hutchins’s tragic death and represents a terrible miscarriage of justice,†Baldwin’s attorney Luke Nikas of Quinn Emanuel said in a statement. “Mr. Baldwin had no reason to believe there was a live bullet in the gun — or anywhere on the movie set. He relied on the professionals with whom he worked, who assured him the gun did not have live rounds. We will fight these charges, and we will win.â€
Charged with involuntary manslaughter and involuntary manslaughter in the commission of a lawful act, Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed face up to 18 months in jail and a $5,000 fine for each count. Due to the firearm enhancement included in the latter charge, the crime is punishable by a mandatory five years in jail. Because Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed will be “charged in the alternative,†the jury selected for the case will decide not simply if they were guilty but under which definition of involuntary manslaughter their guilt resides. Carmack-Altwies and Reeb will formally file charges before the end of January.