[ad_1]
It’s been made official:
Alec Baldwin will be prosecuted for the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on his Rust movie set in 2021.
A producer and lead star on this film, Baldwin allegedly fired a prop gun while shooting the film that he believed to be filled with blanks.
Instead, it contained an actual bullet… which struck and killed Hutchins.
Director Joel Souza was also wounded in the incident, while Baldwin has maintained he did not pull the trigger.
On Thursday, Santa Fe County District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies and special prosecutor Andrea Reeb announced that Baldwin and armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed will both be charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter.
“After a thorough review of the evidence and the laws of the state of New Mexico, I have determined that there is sufficient evidence to file criminal charges against Alec Baldwin and other members of the Rust film crew,” Carmack-Altwies said in a statement.
“On my watch, no one is above the law, and everyone deserves justice.”
According to a press release, Assistant Director Dave Halls has agreed to a plea deal for the charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon.
He will receive a suspended sentence and 6 months probation.
Baldwin, for his part, previously settled a wrongful death lawsuit filed against him by Hutchins’ family members.
In his statement this morning, Reeb continued as follows:
“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.
“The evidence clearly shows a pattern of criminal disregard for safety on the Rust film set.
“In New Mexico, there is no room for film sets that don’t take our state’s commitment to gun safety and public safety seriously.”
Hutchins left behind a son and a husband, the latter of whom said in a previous message:
“I have no interest in engaging in recriminations or attribution of blame (to the producers or Mr. Baldwin).
“All of us believe Halyna’s death was a terrible accident.
“I am grateful that the producers and the entertainment community have come together to pay tribute to Halyna’s final work.”
Speaking to ABC in December 2021, Baldwin shirked almost all responsibility for the fatal incident.
“I was told I was handed an empty gun,” he said back then.
“If there were cosmetic rounds, nothing with a charge at all, no flash round, nothing. She goes down. I thought to myself, did she faint?” the actor recalled.
“The idea that someone put a live round in the gun was not ever reality.”
This past December, Baldwin’s wife Hilaria Baldwin told Extra that the awful accident weighs heavy on her loved ones.
“When you go through something hard, you know not every day is going to be the same,” said Hilaria.
“You have moments in the day that are very hard. Nights are hard. Nightmares are hard. So I’m just there, and I say, ‘I’m here and I’m going to take care of you,’ and I said that from the moment we realized what had happened…
“We’re not okay. We can’t be okay. No one is okay. It was, and is, a tragedy that nobody could ever have imagined. I mean, the loss of her, Halyna. Her son, a little son, her family, her co-workers, the people who loved her, her fans.
“I mean, she was an incredible, incredible woman in so many different ways.”
#Alec #Baldwin #Facing #Involuntary #Manslaughter #Charges #Fatal #Movie #Shooting #Mishap
