Alec Baldwin indicted for involuntary manslaughter in fatal gunfire on film set | Rust film set shooting

Actor Alec Baldwin is facing a new involuntary manslaughter charge over the 2021 fatal shooting of a cinematographer on the set of the movie Rust.

A Santa Fe, New Mexico, grand jury indicted Baldwin on Friday, months after prosecutors had dismissed the same criminal charge against him.

During an October 2021 rehearsal on the set of Rust, a western drama, Baldwin was pointing a gun at cinematographer Halyna Hutchins when it went off, fatally striking her and wounding Joel Souza, the film’s director.

Baldwin, a co-producer and star of the film, has said he did not pull the trigger, but pulled back the hammer of the gun before it fired.

Last April, special prosecutors dismissed the involuntary manslaughter charge against Baldwin, saying the firearm might have been modified prior to the shooting and malfunctioned and that forensic analysis was warranted. But in August, prosecutors said they were considering re-filing the charges after a new analysis of the weapon was completed.

A report from experts in ballistics and forensic testing, commissioned by the prosecutors, said: “Although Alec Baldwin repeatedly denies pulling the trigger, given the tests, findings and observations reported here, the trigger had to be pulled or depressed sufficiently to release the fully cocked or retracted hammer of the evidence revolver.”

Prosecutors brought the new case before a grand jury in Santa Fe this week.

“We look forward to our day in court,” Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro, defense attorneys for Baldwin, said in an email on Friday.

Baldwin and his co-producers are also facing civil lawsuits seeking financial compensation, including from members of the Rust crew, but judges have put those cases on hold while the criminal matter proceeds.

Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the weapons supervisor for Rust, was previously charged with involuntary manslaughter and evidence tampering and her trial is scheduled for February.

Gutierrez-Reed pleaded not guilty last year. Prosecutors have alleged that she acted in a reckless manner when she handed the loaded gun to Baldwin on set and have accused her of failing to ensure that all the rounds in the firearm were dummies. Gutierrez-Reed has also been accused of drinking in the evening before the fatal incident, with prosecutors suggesting she was hungover during the shooting.

The tampering charge stems from allegations that Gutierrez-Reed had given a small bag of cocaine to someone else after she was questioned by police.

Gutierrez-Reed’s lawyers, who previously sought to have the involuntary manslaughter charges against her dismissed, accused prosecutors of mishandling the case and attempting a “character assassination” of their client.

A former special prosecutor on the case stepped down last year after Baldwin’s attorneys sought her removal due to her role as a state representative in the legislature.

David Halls, the film’s assistant director and safety coordinator, pleaded no contest to unsafe handling of a firearm last March. He has cooperated in the investigation and was given a sentence of six months probation. He and Baldwin have said they were unaware there were live rounds in the gun. When the charges against Baldwin were dropped last year, Halls’s lawyer said: “Mr Halls never believed Mr Baldwin should be charged with a crime. It was a tragic accident that is best resolved out of criminal court.”

The Rust Movie Productions company has also paid a $100,000 fine to New Mexico workplace safety regulators. The firm was accused of violating industry protocols and failing to remedy issues that arose after there were two misfires on the set prior to Hutchins’s killing.

Rust resumed production in April of last year. Matthew Hutchins, the husband of the late cinematographer, had negotiated an agreement for him to become an executive producer on the film.

The tragedy has rippled across Hollywood and led to improvements in gun safety, industry experts have said.

The Associated Press contributed reporting

Actor Alec Baldwin is facing a new involuntary manslaughter charge over the 2021 fatal shooting of a cinematographer on the set of the movie Rust.

A Santa Fe, New Mexico, grand jury indicted Baldwin on Friday, months after prosecutors had dismissed the same criminal charge against him.

During an October 2021 rehearsal on the set of Rust, a western drama, Baldwin was pointing a gun at cinematographer Halyna Hutchins when it went off, fatally striking her and wounding Joel Souza, the film’s director.

Baldwin, a co-producer and star of the film, has said he did not pull the trigger, but pulled back the hammer of the gun before it fired.

Last April, special prosecutors dismissed the involuntary manslaughter charge against Baldwin, saying the firearm might have been modified prior to the shooting and malfunctioned and that forensic analysis was warranted. But in August, prosecutors said they were considering re-filing the charges after a new analysis of the weapon was completed.

A report from experts in ballistics and forensic testing, commissioned by the prosecutors, said: “Although Alec Baldwin repeatedly denies pulling the trigger, given the tests, findings and observations reported here, the trigger had to be pulled or depressed sufficiently to release the fully cocked or retracted hammer of the evidence revolver.”

Prosecutors brought the new case before a grand jury in Santa Fe this week.

“We look forward to our day in court,” Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro, defense attorneys for Baldwin, said in an email on Friday.

Baldwin and his co-producers are also facing civil lawsuits seeking financial compensation, including from members of the Rust crew, but judges have put those cases on hold while the criminal matter proceeds.

Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the weapons supervisor for Rust, was previously charged with involuntary manslaughter and evidence tampering and her trial is scheduled for February.

Gutierrez-Reed pleaded not guilty last year. Prosecutors have alleged that she acted in a reckless manner when she handed the loaded gun to Baldwin on set and have accused her of failing to ensure that all the rounds in the firearm were dummies. Gutierrez-Reed has also been accused of drinking in the evening before the fatal incident, with prosecutors suggesting she was hungover during the shooting.

The tampering charge stems from allegations that Gutierrez-Reed had given a small bag of cocaine to someone else after she was questioned by police.

Gutierrez-Reed’s lawyers, who previously sought to have the involuntary manslaughter charges against her dismissed, accused prosecutors of mishandling the case and attempting a “character assassination” of their client.

A former special prosecutor on the case stepped down last year after Baldwin’s attorneys sought her removal due to her role as a state representative in the legislature.

David Halls, the film’s assistant director and safety coordinator, pleaded no contest to unsafe handling of a firearm last March. He has cooperated in the investigation and was given a sentence of six months probation. He and Baldwin have said they were unaware there were live rounds in the gun. When the charges against Baldwin were dropped last year, Halls’s lawyer said: “Mr Halls never believed Mr Baldwin should be charged with a crime. It was a tragic accident that is best resolved out of criminal court.”

The Rust Movie Productions company has also paid a $100,000 fine to New Mexico workplace safety regulators. The firm was accused of violating industry protocols and failing to remedy issues that arose after there were two misfires on the set prior to Hutchins’s killing.

Rust resumed production in April of last year. Matthew Hutchins, the husband of the late cinematographer, had negotiated an agreement for him to become an executive producer on the film.

The tragedy has rippled across Hollywood and led to improvements in gun safety, industry experts have said.

The Associated Press contributed reporting