Alec Baldwin will be charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter after the shooting incident on the set of Rust, which resulted in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. New Mexico prosecutors said they are filing felony criminal charges against actor Alec Baldwin and the armorer of the low-budget western “Rust.”
The charges mark the conclusion of over a year of assumption on who would be held responsible for the death of Halyna Hutchins, a rising cinematographer in the film industry. Hutchins was shot in the chest on October 21, 2021, while rehearsing a scene with Alec Baldwin and the film’s director Joel Souza, who also sustained injuries.
According to a statement from Santa Fe’s district attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies, Baldwin and Hannah Gutierrez Reed will face charges by the end of January 2023.
“Actor and producer Alec Baldwin and armourer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed will each be charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter. I have determined that there is sufficient evidence.”
The Mission Impossible actor and Gutierrez Reed may each receive up to 18 months in prison and a $5,000 fine if found guilty. Baldwin said the pistol had malfunctioned following the incident. He continued by saying that neither he nor anybody else knew the gun was loaded when the trigger was not pulled. “I don’t know what happened on that set. I don’t know how that bullet arrived in that gun. I don’t know,”
The production of the film was planned to restart this year. It is currently uncertain if and when the production will continue.
