Charges accusing Alec Baldwin in ‘Rust’ killing are filed in New Mexico

Actor Alec Baldwin and the armorer on the film Rust were charged Tuesday with involuntary manslaughter in the fatal shooting of the movie’s cinematographer, according to court papers filed in the 1st Judicial District Court in New Mexico, which asserted that they had failed to follow standard film safety protocols on set.

“This reckless deviation from known standards and practice and protocol directly caused the fatal shooting,” Robert Shilling, a special investigator for the district attorney’s office, wrote in a statement of probable cause.

The prosecutors in the case announced this month that Baldwin would face criminal charges in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.

Mary Carmack-Altwies, the Santa Fe County district attorney, said that as an actor and a producer on the film, Baldwin had a responsibility to either check the gun he was given to prepare for a scene or ensure that someone else had. Baldwin has said he was told the gun was “cold,” meaning it did not contain live ammunition.

A lawyer for Baldwin, Luke Nikas, said when the announcement was made that the decision to charge his client “distorts Halyna Hutchins’ tragic death and represents a terrible miscarriage of justice,” asserting that they would fight the charges and win. A lawyer for armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed said his client would also be exonerated.

Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed each face two charges of involuntary manslaughter. If the case goes to trial and jurors decide to convict either of the defendants, they will decide which charge applies. The lesser charge carries a prison sentence of up to 18 months, while the more serious charge includes a mandatory five-year prison sentence.

The fatal shooting of Hutchins on Oct. 21, 2021, occurred when the crew was setting up a shot of Baldwin drawing an old-fashioned revolver from his holster before a gunfight. He has said that Hutchins, who was standing next to the camera, was directing the position of the gun.

The actor has denied pulling the trigger, saying he had pulled back the hammer and released it before the gun discharged. Carmack-Altwies said a forensic examination of the gun by the FBI indicated that Baldwin had pulled the trigger.

Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed will not be arrested, prosecutors said, unless they do not cooperate with their scheduled court hearings.