Actor Alec Baldwin and armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed are facing charges of involuntary manslaughter over the shooting death of assistant director Halyna Hutchins on the set of “Rust” in October 2021 according to The Guardian.
In addition, assistant director David Halls has signed a plea agreement for the charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon and was given a suspended sentence and six months of probation.
Santa Fe County district attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies announced the charges and plea deal this morning. Carmack-Altwies says the charges against both Baldwin and Gutierrez Reed had not yet been filed on Thursday, but would be before the end of January.
A statement attributed to the appointed special prosecutor Andrea Reeb on this case states that “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. It’s that simple.”
An attorney for Baldwin, Luke Nikas, says his client “had no reason to believe there was a live bullet in the gun” on the day Hutchins was killed. Nikas has condemned the charges against the actor as “a terrible miscarriage of justice. We will fight these charges, and we will win.”
The incident took place during rehearsals on-set when a revolver in Baldwin’s hand went off, killing Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza. It was later found that the weapon, which was supposed to have contained only blanks, contained live ammunition. Additional live ammunition was found on set, which was reportedly plagued with safety issues and weapons-handling mishaps prior to Hutchins’ death.
Baldwin last year settled a wrongful death lawsuit filed by Hutchins’s family for an undisclosed sum.
Update: SAG-AFTRA released the following statement on today’s news regarding charges in the “Rust” tragedy:
“​The death of Halyna Hutchins is a tragedy, and all the more so because of its preventable nature. It is not a failure of duty or a criminal act on the part of any performer.
The prosecutor’s contention that an actor has a duty to ensure the functional and mechanical operation of a firearm on a production set is wrong and uninformed. An actor’s job is not to be a firearms or weapons expert. Firearms are provided for their use under the guidance of multiple expert professionals directly responsible for the safe and accurate operation of that firearm. In addition, the employer is always responsible for providing a safe work environment at all times, including hiring and supervising the work of professionals trained in weapons.
The Industry Standards for safety with firearms and use of blank ammunition are ​clearly laid out ​in Safety Bulletin 1, provided by the​ Joint​ Industry-Wide Labor Management Safety Commission. The guidelines require an experienced, qualified armorer to be put in charge of all handling, use, and safekeeping of firearms on set. These duties include ‘inspecting the firearm and barrel before and after every firing sequence,’ and ‘checking all firearms before each use’.
The guidelines do not make it the performer’s responsibility to check any firearm. Performers ​train to perform, and they are not required or expected to be experts on guns or experienced in their use. The industry assigns that responsibility to qualified professionals who oversee their use and handling in every aspect. Anyone issued a firearm on set must be ​given training and guidance in its safe handlin​g and use,​ but all activity with firearms on a set must be under the careful supervision and control of the professional armorer and the employer.”
Source: The Guardian, Deadline
