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Actor Alec Baldwin and set armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed have been charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter in the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the movie “Rust” in New Mexico in 2021. This is a rare case as it is unusual for a Hollywood actor to face criminal charges for an on-set shooting. Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed have been charged for their “reckless disregard for safety” that led to the death of Hutchins. The most serious charge carries a potential sentence of five years in jail. It would require the prosecution to prove that Baldwin acted with intentional disregard for the safety of others.
A statement by the prosecution’s special investigator, Robert Shilling, explains that Baldwin is being charged as an actor and producer of the low-budget movie. Shilling cited Baldwin’s lack of firearms training, failure to check if the revolver was loaded, and ignoring safety complaints from the crew as some of the “extremely reckless acts or failures to act” in the ten days leading up to Hutchins’ death. Baldwin has denied responsibility for the shooting, claiming that Hutchins directed him to point the gun at the camera. Baldwin said live ammunition should never have been allowed on the set and that it was the job of Gutierrez-Reed and the first assistant director to ensure the gun was unloaded.
However, videos from inside the church before the shooting show Baldwin with his finger on the trigger. An FBI forensic test of the revolver found that it “functioned normally” and would not fire without pulling the trigger. The prosecution used Baldwin’s comments to the media against him, claiming that the investigation showed he deviated from firearm safety protocols that he laid out in television interviews.
Gutierrez-Reed has been held responsible for “allowing live ammunition on the set.” However, she has claimed that she brought two boxes of dummy rounds onto the set from a previous movie and that the supply company PDQ Arms and Prop also provided dummy rounds and blanks. An FBI test found that live long Colt .45 rounds taken from PDQ in Albuquerque did not match those found at the movie set, including the round that killed Hutchins and wounded the director, Joel Souza.
As the armorer responsible for firearm safety and training, Gutierrez-Reed failed to provide sufficient instruction to Baldwin, check the rounds loaded into the revolver, or remain present in the rehearsal to ensure Baldwin did not point the weapon at Hutchins, according to the special investigator. Gutierrez-Reed has claimed that she checked the rounds were dummies before handing the gun to Halls and leaving the church due to COVID protocols. Halls then handed it to Baldwin, telling him it was a “cold gun,” meaning it did not contain an explosive charge. Halls has signed a plea deal for a misdemeanor charge and is expected to cooperate with the prosecution.
Gutierrez-Reed has claimed that producers denied her requests for extra firearms training, including with Baldwin. However, the movie’s line producer testified that all of Gutierrez-Reed’s requests for extra days for armorer duties were granted. Gutierrez-Reed has testified that Baldwin’s lack of knowledge and “poor form” in using a revolver may have led to the discharge that killed Hutchins. Her lawyer, Jason Bowles, has claimed that Halls, her senior in the production, was at fault for not calling Gutierrez-Reed back into the church to perform her armorer duties.
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The defendants face a court arraignment, which can be done virtually, then a preliminary hearing where a judge will decide whether there is probable cause to move forward with a trial. Legal analysts have claimed that the prosecution could face long odds in convincing a jury that Baldwin is criminally liable as he was assured the gun was not loaded. It will be difficult to blame him for all the movie’s alleged safety failures.
REFERENCES:
Baldwin charged for ‘reckless acts’ leading to ‘Rust’ shooting
