Alec Baldwin And Hannah Gutierrez-Reed Have Been Formally Charged With Involuntary Manslaughter Following Rust Shooting
After the decision to do so was announced earlier this month, Alec Baldwin has been charged with involuntary manslaughter in connection to the death of Halyna Hutchins. The actor is being accused by New Mexican authorities of acting with criminal negligence after a gun he operated, a Colt .45, shot a live round at the cinematographer during the filming of his movie, "Rust." The film's armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, has also been similarly charged in connection to the case. Baldwin or Gutierrez-Reed are not being accused of willfully killing Hutchins, but are being investigated for reckless behavior in the lead-up to the shooting.
According to Baldwin, the shooting was an accident likely caused by negligence on the part of Gutierrez-Reed and other members of the "Rust" prop department. In a lawsuit Baldwin filed against Gutierrez-Reed back in November 2022 (via KOAT 7), he alleges that live rounds were put into the Colt .45 without his knowledge, and when he was shooting a scene, the round went off. It struck both Hutchins and director Joel Souza, the latter of whom recovered from his injuries. However, according to Variety and the official statement of probable cause, Gutierrez-Reed also alleges that Baldwin refused to engage in her weapons training session beforehand.
Regardless, the two are expected to appear in front of a New Mexico court, although it is likely they will do so virtually. They each face one count of involuntary manslaughter, facing up to 18 months in prison with the potential of an additional five-year sentence for use of the weapon.
A tragic situation
The court dates for the appearances of Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed have not been publicly released. However, the road to these filings has been a sad and terrifying one. It has been alleged that several crew members had previously walked off the set of "Rust" due to concerns over gun safety. There were said to have been three other misfires that occurred, and other crew members were accused of using the production's firearms for personal target practice.
Hutchins' widower, Matthew Hutchins, previously sued Baldwin and the producers behind "Rust" for their role in his wife's death. However, he announced in October 2022 that the suit was to be settled out-of-court, with him receiving an executive producer credit on the film as part of the settlement. According to Variety, the suit is still technically active, likely because of the criminal investigations now underway. Four other lawsuits connected to the "Rust" production are also active but on hold. The film was originally slated to restart filming this month, but cameras will likely not roll again until after the trials against Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed, if they do at all. We at /Film continue to keep everyone affected by this tragic case in our thoughts.