Alec Baldwin is expected to be charged with involuntary manslaughter after he fatally shot cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during rehearsals for the movie Rust back in 2021. Baldwin has maintained he wasn’t aware that the gun he fired on set contained a live round. The actor and film’s armor Hannah Gutierrez Reed will be charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter, according to prosecutors. The shooting resulted in a whirlwind of allegations of negligence from those involved and involved a lot of finger appointing.
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Hutchins was struck and killed by a live round of ammunition that was fired from a prop gun being held by the actor. He still maintains that he did not pull the gun’s trigger. Director Joel Souza was reportedly also injured in the incident.
According to a post-mortem investigation into Hutchins’ death, which was signed by a New Mexico chief medical investigator, the cause of death was listed as a gunshot wound to the chest, and the manner of death was listed as an accident.
“Review of available law enforcement reports showed no compelling demonstration that the firearm was intentionally loaded with live ammunition on set. Based on all available information, including the absence of obvious intent to cause harm or death, the manner of death is best classified as an accident,” the report stated.
According to an FBI forensics report, the weapon couldn’t be fired during FBI testing of its normal function without someone pulling the trigger while the gun was cocked. The report also stated that the gun eventually malfunctioned during the testing after internal parts were fractured, which then caused the gun to go off into the cock position without actually pulling the trigger.
During an interview with CNN back in August, the actor had placed responsibility for the tragedy on Gutierrez-Reed, who back then served as an armor and props assistant on the film, as well as assistant director Dave Halls, who handed him the gun.
Halls had signed a plea agreement “for the charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon,” according to the District Attorney’s office that announced the statement. Prosecutors stated that the terms of that certain deal included a 6-month probation time.