ACTOR Alec Baldwin and armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed were charged yesterday with involuntary manslaughter in connection with the shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
The charge carries a possible sentence of 18 months in jail if found guilty.
On Oct 21, 2021, Hutchins was killed on the set of the Western film Rust in New Mexico, while director Joel Souza was injured by a bullet from a gun Baldwin was carrying while they rehearsed a scene at a chapel.
Since then, the actor has vigorously disputed that he fired the shot that ultimately killed Hutchins.
Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed have both blamed each other for the incident, as have others.
Gutierrez-Reed has accused Baldwin of being distracted during her training on handling guns. Meanwhile, Baldwin’s attorneys have filed a countersuit against Gutierrez-Reed, accusing her of failing to identify the live round.
Robert Shilling, an investigator for the district attorney’s office, explained the ways that prosecutors contend the actor had acted carelessly on set. They said he had inadequate weapons training, had ignored safety concerns on set, had pulled the trigger of a real gun when a dummy or rubber gun should have been used, and had pointed the rifle towards the director and cinematographer of the movie.
Baldwin’s case is remarkable in that there is little or no precedent for a Hollywood actor to face criminal charges for an on-set shooting.
While Baldwin and his representatives have yet to comment publicly on the charges, in a television interview last year, he stated that “someone is responsible for what happened, and I can’t say who that is, but I know it’s not me.”
Meanwhile, the actor’s wife Hilaria Baldwin recently commented on the charges, saying: “It’s been an emotional time for my family.”
