Alec Baldwin and Rust Armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed have officially been charged with involuntary manslaughter in the fatal onset shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. According to People, Santa Fe County District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies formally filed two counts of involuntary manslaughter charges against the two on Tuesday. A judge will next decide whether to move the case forward after a preliminary hearing.
“This reckless deviation from known standards and practice and protocol directly caused the fatal shooting,” Robert Shilling, a special investigator, wrote in a probable cause statement, per the outlet. According to Entertainment weekly, charges for negligent use of a deadly weapon were also filed against Rust assistant director David Halls.
Meanwhile, on Monday, the First Judicial District Attorney’s Office spokesperson Heather Brewer said in a press release, “The District Attorney and the special prosecutor are fully focused on securing justice for Halyna Hutchins. The evidence and the facts speak for themselves.”
As per the reports, the pair could each face a five-year prison sentence. “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 probable cause statement filed against Baldwin alleges, per documents obtained by New Mexico’s KRQE News.
“By act or omission or failure to act in his position as a producer directly contributed and/or failed to mitigate numerous reckless and dangerous actions during a very short time period.” The official charges came around two weeks after Mary Carmack-Altwies, the Santa Fe district attorney, first announced that Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed, who supervised weapons for the film, would be prosecuted.
Rust cinematographer Hutchins was shot and killed on October 21, 2021, by a prop gun which turned out to contain live rounds. The gun was held by Baldwin and the actor has since maintained that he did not pull the trigger.
