Prosecutors plan to charge actor Alec Baldwin with involuntary manslaughter in the deadly 2021 “Rust” film shooting. Film armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed will also be charged.
The film set shooting resulted in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins after she was struck by a live round of ammunition fired from a prop gun held by Baldwin.
Baldwin has maintained he did not pull the gun’s trigger, placing responsibility for the tragedy on the armorer and props assistant on the film, as well as the assistant director, who handed him the gun. Attorneys for the crew members have accused Baldwin of deflecting blame.
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The "Rust" shooting highlights the danger of Hollywood mishaps. It's not the first on-set tragedy
From CNN's Lisa Respers France
Buildings at the Bonanza Creek Ranch film set, seen on October 28, 2021.
The death of 42-year-old Halyna Hutchins is the latest on-set tragedy for an industry that strives for safety while also portraying action-packed stories.
Cast members have also died from accidents during production including:
Brandon Lee
The son of the renowned martial arts master and actor Bruce Lee, the 28-year-old was filming the final scenes of the movie “The Crow” when he died after being shot with a prop gun in 1993.
Dummy bullets had been replaced with cardboard wadding, but a bullet fragment had broken off and remained in the gun. That metal tip from the dummy bullet hit Lee’s abdomen.
Jon-Erik Hexum became famous in 1982 after snagging the lead role of Phineas Bogg in the NBC series “Voyagers!”
The tall and strikingly handsome actor was a rising star and soon cast to play Mac Harper, a CIA operative posing as a male model in the TV series “Cover Up.”
While filming, Hexum reportedly was playing around with a prop gun from a scene and shot himself in the head.
Vic Morrow
Victor Morrow was tragically killed while filming “Twilight Zone: The Movie” in 1982.
The actor and two child actors, 7-year-old Myca Dinh Le and 6-year-old Renee Shin-Yi Chen, were being filmed fleeing from a Vietnamese village during the Vietnam war while a US Army helicopter hovered over them.
The chopper crashed following a pyrotechnic explosion, landing on Morrow, 53, and the children, who also died.
The film’s director, the pilot and three others were charged with involuntary manslaughter. They were all acquitted following a high-profile trial that lasted almost nine months.
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Attorney for assistant director Dave Halls says absent no charges, plea deal "is the best outcome"
From CNN's Josh Campbell, Paul Vercammen, Holly Yan and Travis Caldwell
Lisa Torraco, the attorney of assistant director Dave Halls, released the following statement Thursday.
Halls, who handed the gun to Alec Baldwin before the fatal shooting, signed a plea agreement “for the charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon,” the district attorney’s office announced Thursday. Prosecutors said the terms of that deal include six months of probationand a suspended sentence.
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A look at the key characters on the "Rust" movie set on the day of the shooting
From CNN's Eric Levenson
In October 2021, a group gathered to film on the set for the Old Western-style movie “Rust” at Bonanza Creek Ranch outside Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Fifteen months later, cinematographer Halyna Hutchins is dead, director Joel Souza was injured and two people, including star actor Alec Baldwin, face criminal charges. Another has already agreed to a plea deal on a charge with no recommended prison time.
Here’s a look at the key people on the set of the movie when the fatal gunshot was fired:
Halyna Hutchins was the cinematographer of “Rust” who was fatally shot during a rehearsal for the movie. She was standing behind the camera when she was struck by a live round of ammunition fired from a prop gun held by Baldwin. She was airlifted to a hospital some 55 miles away in Albuquerque, where she was pronounced dead. In the wake of the charges, her family thanked the prosecutors for their decision.
Alec Baldwin was the star actor and a producer of “Rust,” who was holding the gun that shot and killed Hutchins. In the scene, Baldwin was demonstrating a “cross draw” – pulling a gun from a holster on the opposite side of his body from his draw hand. The scene required him to point the gun toward the camera. He has maintained he was not aware the gun he fired on set contained a live round, and he has said he did not pull the trigger of the gun. Baldwin was charged Thursday with two counts of involuntary manslaughter.
Hannah Gutierrez Reed worked as the armorer and props assistant for “Rust” and in that role handled weapons on set. Her attorney has said she loaded the firearm used in the shooting with what she believed to be dummy ammo from a box of dummy rounds. She then handed the firearm to assistant director David Halls, according to her attorneys. After the shooting, she sued the movie’s gun and ammunition supplier and alleged she had been sold a cache of dummy ammunition with live rounds mixed in. She was charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter on Thursday.
David Halls, the assistant director of the film, was identified as the man who handed the gun to Baldwin before the fatal shooting. He signed a plea agreement “for the charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon,” the district attorney’s office announced Thursday. Prosecutors said the terms of that deal include six months of probation.
Joel Souza, the 48-year-old director of “Rust,” suffered a gunshot wound to his right shoulder and survived. Charges will not be filed against him, prosecutors said.
A prosecutor announced charges in the "Rust" set shooting. Here's what we learned about the case today
Prosecutors plan to charge actor Alec Baldwin with involuntary manslaughter in the deadly 2021 “Rust” film shooting. Set armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed will also be charged.
If you haven’t been following the story, you can start byreading this timeline of how the on-set tragedy unfolded. And here’s a roundup of today’s major developments:
Manslaughter charges: The district attorney in Santa Fe, New Mexico, plans to charge both Baldwin and Gutierrez Reed with involuntary manslaughter. A jury will be asked whether the two are guilty, with an option to choose between two legal definitions of the crime.
Potential sentencing: That choice between manslaughter definitions could have a major impact on the penalty, should either defendant be found guilty. While each is punishable by up to 18 months in jail and a $5,000 fine, a firearm enhancement accompanying one definition would be punishable by a mandatory five years in jail.
Both defendants deny the charges: Baldwin’s attorney called the decision a “miscarriage of justice.” He repeated the actor’s assertion that he had no reason to believe there was a live bullet in the gun, laying blame for the tragedy on others involved in the production.Gutierrez Reed’s lawyer said the charges were “absolutely wrong” and voiced confidence a jury would not find her guilty.
Prosecutor outlines her reasoning: District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies’ case came down to negligence. She said “Rust,” on which Baldwin was also the producer, had a very “fast and loose set.” Baldwin should have checked the gun before the scene started, the prosecutor argued, and she also noted that people had complained about safety issues on set in the days before the tragedy.
What happens next: Carmack-Altwies told CNN she’ll formally file the charges “before the end of this month,” but that her office will not request an arrest of Baldwin and Gutierrez Reed. The two will be required at an initial court appearance, which they may do by video. The district attorney said she does not plan to charge anyone else involved in the production.
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Why the "Rust" shooting is a "really difficult case" for prosecutors, according to CNN legal analyst
CNN senior legal analyst Elie Honig
(CNN)
CNN senior legal analyst Elie Honig said the “Rust” fatal shooting case is not clear-cut negligence and includes factual issues.
First of all, Honig said, New Mexico First Judicial District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies told CNN that she doesn’t know — and “we might not ever know” — how live rounds got onto the set.
Secondly, the incident happened on a movie set, and “most normal people do not know what the norms are on a movie set,” he said.
So the expertise of prop masters are heavily relied upon, but even those experts have different views on what the obligations of actors and crew members are on set, Honig said.
“Remember, this is a criminal case. You need all 12 jurors to find guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. So I’m not saying that there’s no chance here, but this is a really difficult case for the prosecution,” he added.
Honig also said he was “stunned” that the district attorney decided to charge Alec Baldwin as both an actor and producer.
“The question about a producer — that gets into the questions of what exactly was Alec Baldwin’s job, what were his responsibilities as it relates to the many other directors, producers, professionals on that set — and look, sometimes people are producers in name … but are not actually in charge of things in a hands-on way,” he continued.
“All of these are complex factual issues. … This is not a civil proceeding. This is a criminal proceeding. There is the highest burden in our legal system on prosecutors. They have to prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt and unanimously to the jury. It’s never easy, and I think it’s going to be particularly difficult here,” he added.
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Alec Baldwin feels "blindsided" by today's charges, his attorney says
From CNN’s Chloe Melas
Alec Baldwin speaks during an event in December 2021 in New York.
(Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images/File)
Actor Alec Baldwin and his legal team feel “blindsided” by today’s charges, his attorney Luke Nikas told CNN in a statement Thursday.
They were not given any indication Baldwin would face criminal charges and say they “learned of the charges in the media,” according to Nikas.
In her first televised interview after announcing the charging decisions, New Mexico’s First Judicial District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies told CNN’s Josh Campbell her office was in “almost constant contact” with the opposing parties’ attorneys “for about the last six weeks.”
Earlier Thursday, Nikas said the decision to charge “distorts Halyna Hutchins’ tragic death and represents a terrible miscarriage of justice.”
“Mr. Baldwin had no reason to believe there was a live bullet in the gun — or anywhere on the movie set. He relied on the professionals with whom he worked, who assured him the gun did not have live rounds. We will fight these charges, and we will win,” Nikas said.
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District attorney: Other actors and celebrities have told my office that they "always check their guns"
Many other actors have said they “always check their guns or have someone check it front of them,” New Mexico First Judicial District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies told CNN shortly after announcing her intention of charging actor Alec Baldwin and film armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed with involuntary manslaughter.
She noted that some of those actors were even “A-list” celebrities.
“An actor does not get a free pass just because they are an actor. That is what is so important. We are saying here in New Mexico, that everyone is equal under the law,” she added.
Carmack-Altwies said there were live rounds mixed in with dummy rounds and crews were not checking ammunition regularly.
Somehow, a live round got loaded into the gun that was handed to Baldwin.
Baldwin failing to check the gun before firing it is a key piece of information that prosecutors are using to argue that he was negligent about the safety standard, Carmack-Altwies said. Negligence is an important part of the involuntary manslaughter charge, according to CNN legal analyst Elliot Williams.
Overall, there was a “lack of safety and safety standards on set,” the district attorney said.
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"No one is above the law": Family of cinematographer killed on "Rust" set thanks prosecutors
From CNN’s Paul Vercammen
Candles are lighted during a vigil for late cinematographer Halyna Hutchins in California in October 2021.
Mario Anzuoni/Reuters
The family of Halyna Hutchins, the cinematographer killed on the “Rust” movie set, said they support the charges that are expected to be filed against actor Alec Baldwin and film armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed.
“It is a comfort to the family that, in New Mexico, no one is above the law,” according to the statement.
Attorney Brian J. Panish, on behalf of the Hutchins family, issued the following statement:
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In pictures: Aftermath of the fatal shooting on the set of "Rust"
CNN Digital Photo
The deadly shooting on the set of “Rust” in Santa Fe, New Mexico, took place in October 2021.
The film set shooting resulted in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins after she was struck by a live round of ammunition fired from a prop gun held by Alec Baldwin.
Here’s a look at the scene following the shooting:
A prop cart rests by the scene of the shooting at the Bonanza Creek Ranch in Santa Fe on October 21.
(Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office)
Evidence markers are seen around the scene of the shooting.
(Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office)
A gun and ammunition are seen in a prop cart near the shooting scene.
(Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office)
Police officers respond at the scene of the shooting.
(Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office)
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Here's what will happen after charges are filed against Alec Baldwin and the "Rust" film armorer
Alec Baldwin is seen on the set of "Rust" following the shooting on October 21, 2021, in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
(Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office)
The New Mexico district attorney who plans to charge actor Alec Baldwin and the “Rust” set armorer with involuntary manslaughter charges says the pair will not be arrested ahead of their first court appearances.
District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies said she will formally file the charges against Baldwin and the armorer, Hannah Gutierrez Reed, “before the end of this month.”
“We will not be asking for an arrest,” the district attorney told CNN’s Josh Campbell.
“We’ll send out what’s called a summons. From that, the court will set what’s called a first appearance, or, it’s basically an arraignment. And at that point they will either have to come here (to New Mexico) or they might do a video arraignment, we have been doing those since Covid, and they will get their conditions of release and enter not guilty pleas.”
The prosecutor told Campbell her office does not plan to charge anyone else in connection with the case.
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Baldwin should have checked gun he was holding, district attorney says
From CNN's Stella Chan
Alec Baldwin had a responsibility on the set of “Rust” to check the gun he was holding, according to New Mexico First Judicial District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies.
“Every person that handles a gun has a duty to make sure, if they are going to handle that gun - point it at someone and pull the trigger – that it is not going to fire a projectile and kill someone, and this is really about justice for Halyna Hutchins,” she said to CNN’s Josh Campbell minutes after announcing charges in the case.
Baldwin was both an actor and producer for the movie.
“He’s being charged as both. He was the actor that pulled the trigger, so certainly he’s charged as an actor, but also as a producer he also had a duty to make sure that the set was safe,” said Carmack-Altwies, noting that people on set had complained about the lax safety and there had been accidental misfires prior to this fatal incident.
“He should have been aware that safety was an issue on set and then as an actor that day, he should have checked that gun, checked those projectiles,” she said.
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Why prosecutor says she's pursuing criminal charges, regardless of if "Rust" shooting was accidental
District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies speaks during an interview on Jan. 19.
(CNN)
Shortly after announcing involuntary manslaughter charges against actor Alec Baldwin and “Rust” film armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed, District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies outlined why the deadly on-set shooting could result in criminal charges regardless of whether it was an accident.
“Just because it is an accident doesn’t mean that it’s not criminal,” Carmack-Altwies said in an interview with CNN.
Halyna Hutchins attends the SAGindie Sundance Filmmakers Reception in 2019 in Park City, Utah.
(Fred Hayes/Getty Images/File)
Alec Baldwin’s attorney Luke Nikas said New Mexico prosecutors’ intention to charge the actor with involuntary manslaughter in the fatal “Rust” set shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins is a “terrible miscarriage of justice.”
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"Rust" had a "really fast and loose set," district attorney says
New Mexico First Judicial District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies told CNN why prosecutors believed there was probable cause to charge actor Alec Baldwin and armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed with involuntary manslaughter in the deadly “Rust” movie set shooting.
There were a number of contributing factors to the decision, she told CNN’s Josh Campbell, including “a lack of safety and safety standards on that set, that there were live rounds on set; they were mixed in with regular dummy rounds.”
“This was a really fast and loose set,” she said, “and … nobody was doing their job. There were three people, that if they had done their job that day, this tragedy wouldn’t have happened — and that’s David Halls and Hannah Gutierrez Reed and Alec Baldwin. If they had just done their basic duties, we wouldn’t be standing here.”
Assistant director Halls has signed a plea agreement for the charge of “negligent use of a deadly weapon.”
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Attorney for "Rust" armorer calls charges "absolutely wrong"
From CNN’s Julia Jones
The Bonanza Creek Ranch, where the film "Rust" was being filmed, appears in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on October 23, 2021.
(Jae C. Hong/AP/File)
The attorney for “Rust” set armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed issued a statement condemning the decision to charge her with involuntary manslaughter in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
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"What this involuntary manslaughter charge comes down to is negligence," CNN analyst says
CNN legal analyst Elliot Williams said prosectors decided to charge actor Alec Baldwin with involuntary manslaughter in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins due to negligence.
The law defines that “as duty of care that a reasonable person in a similar situation would have provided,” he said.
It requires prosecutors to review incidents that have happened on other movie sets, he said.
But Williams said “this wasn’t just a simple accident that happened on a movie set, at least according to the prosecutor, allegedly. What this is was such a failure from the leadership on the movie set that led to an incredibly tragic death.”
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The assistant director of "Rust" signed a plea agreement related to the deadly set shooting
From CNN's Elizabeth Joseph
"Rust" Assistant Director David Halls
(From IMDB)
Assistant director David Halls has signed a plea agreement for the charge of “negligent use of a deadly weapon,” according to the New Mexico prosecutor who announced charges in the fatal “Rust” film set shooting Thursday.
The terms of that deal include six months of probation and a suspended sentence, according to a statement from New Mexico First Judicial District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies’ office.
The statement added that charges will not be filed against film director Joel Souza.
CNN has reached out for comment from actor Alec Baldwin and armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed, who face involuntary manslaughter charges, and will reach out to Halls and Souza.
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Armorer in "Rust" film shooting will also be charged with involuntary manslaughter, prosecutors say
From CNN's Paul Vercammen
In addition to actor Alec Baldwin, “Rust” movie armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed will be charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the film’s set in 2021, according to prosecutors.
“Mr. Baldwin knew that he could never point a firearm at crew members under any circumstances and had a duty of safety to his fellow crew members,” Gutierrez Reed said.
“Yet he did point the gun at Halyna before the fatal incident against all rules and common sense,” she added.
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Prosecutors plan to charge Alec Baldwin with involuntary manslaughter
From CNN’s Paul Vercammen
A distraught Alec Baldwin lingers in the parking lot outside the Santa Fe County Sheriff's offices after being questioned on October 20, 2021.
Baldwin and Gutierrez Reed will be “charged in the alternative” with two counts of manslaughter, meaning a jury will decide not only whether the two are guilty, but also under which legal definition of involuntary manslaughter.
In either case, a conviction is punishable by up to 18 months in jail and up to a $5,000 fine, according to the district attorney.
But one definition would involve a firearm enhancement, or added mandatory penalty, because a firearm was involved. In that case, the crime could be punishable by a mandatory five years in jail.
The district attorney said no charges will be filed specific to the non-fatal shooting of the film’s director, Joel Souza.
CNN has reached out to Baldwin and Gutierrez Reed for comment.
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Baldwin has placed responsibility for the shooting on crew members. Their attorneys say he's deflecting blame
From CNN's Travis Caldwell and Paul Vercammen
In an interview with CNN in August 2022, actor Alec Baldwin placed responsibility for the tragedy on Hannah Gutierrez Reed, who served as the armorer and props assistant on the film, and assistant director Dave Halls, who handed him the gun. In November, Baldwin filed suit against the two and other individuals associated with the film, according to a cross-complaint obtained by CNN.
Through their respective attorneys, both Gutierrez Reed and Halls maintained they were not at fault and accused Baldwin of deflecting blame onto others. Gutierrez Reed also sued the movie’s gun and ammunition supplier and its founder – who deny wrongdoing – and alleged a cache of dummy ammunition was sold with live rounds mixed in.
In October 2022, the family of Halyna Hutchins — the film cinematographer who was struck and killed by a live round of ammunition fired from a prop gun — reached an undisclosed settlement in a wrongful death lawsuit filed against Baldwin and others involved in producing the film.
Decision expected on criminal charges in "Rust" shooting, according to prosecutors
From CNN's Travis Caldwell and Paul Vercammen
This aerial photo shows part of the Bonanza Creek Ranch film set in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on October 23, 2021.
(Jae C. Hong/AP/File)
Prosecutors say they are ready to announce whether criminal charges will be filed over the 2021 fatal film set shooting of a cinematographer that involved actor Alec Baldwin and other members of the film’s production.
Mary Carmack-Altwies, district attorney for the state’s first judicial district, and special prosecutor Andrea Reeb will disclose their decision in a written statement Thursday morning, according to Carmack-Altwies’ office.
“Regardless of the District Attorney’s decision, the announcement will be a solemn occasion, made in a manner keeping with the office’s commitment to upholding the integrity of the judicial process and respecting the victim’s family,” said Heather Brewer, spokesperson for the office.
Film cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was struck and killed by a live round of ammunition fired from a prop gun being held by Baldwin, who maintains he did not pull the gun’s trigger. Director Joel Souza was also injured.
I the summary of the postmortem investigation into Hutchins’ death – which was formally signed by the New Mexico chief medical investigator – the cause of death is listed as “gunshot wound of chest,” and the manner of death is listed as an “accident.”
An FBI forensics report said the weapon could not be fired during FBI testing of its normal functioning without pulling the trigger while the gun was cocked. The report also noted the gun eventually malfunctioned during testing after internal parts fractured, which caused the gun to go off in the cocked position without pulling the trigger.
Matthew Hutchins, widower of Halyna Hutchins, described her death as a “terrible accident” in a statement at the time of the settlement. Production on “Rust” was to resume this month with Matthew Hutchins joining as an executive producer on the film as part of the agreement.
