Alec Baldwin, armorer to be charged over 'Rust' shooting
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[January 31, 2023]
By Andrew Hay
(Reuters) - Actor Alec Baldwin and armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed will be
charged on Tuesday with involuntary manslaughter for the fatal shooting
of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of Western "Rust" in 2021,
a New Mexico prosecutor said.
The charges follow 15 months of speculation whether District Attorney
Mary Carmack-Altwies would find evidence Baldwin showed criminal
disregard for safety when a revolver he was rehearsing with fired a live
round that killed Hutchins.
The "30 Rock" actor has denied responsibility for the shooting, saying
he cocked the revolover but never pulled the trigger and it was the job
of Gutierrez-Reed and other weapons professionals to ensure it was
unloaded.
The most serious charge - which carries five years in jail - would
require prosecutors to convince a jury Baldwin was not just negligent
but reckless in his use of a firearm.
"The evidence and facts speak for themselves," Heather Brewer, a
spokeswoman for Carmack-Altwies' office, said in a statement.
A sheriff's office investigation has yet to reveal how live ammunition
got onto the set outside Santa Fe.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Jan/31/images/ads/current/timbercreek_sda_LUAL_2022.png)
Legal analysts have said prosecutors will struggle to win convictions
without proof Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed knew live ammunition was
present but took no precautions.
Industry-wide firearms safety guidelines instruct actors to assume a
firearm is loaded with blanks and rely on professional weapons handlers
to ensure it is safe to use. Live ammunition is strictly forbidden on
sets.
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![](../images/013123PIX/ent_d.93.jpg)
Actor Alec Baldwin appears in court in
the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S., January 23,
2019. Erik Thomas/Pool via REUTERS
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Jan/31/images/ads/current/llm_quarter_EDUCATION_2023.png) Gutierrez-Reed said she checked the
rounds she loaded in the revolver were dummies before handing it to
first assistant director Dave Halls. Halls handed it to Baldwin,
telling him it was a "cold gun" or unloaded, according to police.
Halls has signed a plea deal with prosecutors for a
misdemeanor charge.
The armorer testified to New Mexico's worker safety agency (OSHA) on
Dec. 7 that the shooting might have been prevented had she had more
time to train Baldwin. She said he had "poor form" when using the
revolver.
Baldwin had a tendency to cock the revolver then pull the trigger to
release the hammer, rather than lower it slowly with his thumb once
a scene was over, she said.
"If you do not release the hammer slowly, it is typical that a gun
will go off," Gutierrez-Reed said.
A lawyer representing Baldwin did not respond to a request for
comment.
Gabrielle Pickle, the movie's line producer, told OSHA on Dec. 20
that Gutierrez-Reed was granted all the days she requested to
fulfill her armorer duties.
(Reporting by Andrew Hay in Taos, New Mexico; Editing by Christopher
Cushing)
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