Alec Baldwin Will Be Officially Charged In The Fatal ‘Rust’ Shooting

Alec Baldwin will be formally charged with manslaughter on Tuesday.

“The District Attorney and Special Prosecutor are fully focused on securing justice for Halyna Hutchins,” Heather Brewer, a spokeswoman for New Mexico’s First Judicial District Attorney’s Office, said in a statement. “The evidence and the facts speak for themselves.”

Gunsmith Hannah Gutierrez-Reed will also be formally charged with manslaughter.

Halyna Hutchins died on October 21, 2021, after a gun Baldwin was holding was fired on set. “Rust” director Joel Souza was also injured in the shooting at a Bonanza Creek Ranch church in New Mexico.

Alec Baldwin will be charged with manslaughter in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on Tuesday, January 31.
(Mark Sagliocco/Getty Images for National Geographic | Mat Hayward/Getty Images for AMC Networks)

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The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Department spent the last year investigating how the live tours got to the film set. Gutierrez-Reed and assistant director Dave Halls were the only other crew members who allegedly handled the gun that fired on set.

Halls allegedly handed Baldwin a .45 revolver, telling him it was “cold” or safe. Before that, Gutierrez-Reed spun the cylinder to show Halls what was inside the gun, his lawyer said.

Baldwin has maintained that he did not pull the trigger on the gun – once during a primetime interview shortly after the fatal shooting and again in a podcast episode. The actor first said he pulled the hammer of the gun as far as he could and released it, but didn’t pull the trigger.

The New Mexico First Judicial District Attorney’s Office announced that Baldwin will face two charges of manslaughter earlier this month.

Halyna Hutchins died on the set of “Rust” on October 21, 2021, after Alec Baldwin pulled a gun.
(Panish Shea Boyle Ravipudi LLP)

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Baldwin’s attorney called the decision to charge the actor a “miscarriage of justice.”

“This ruling distorts the tragic death of Halyna Hutchins and represents a terrible miscarriage of justice,” Quinn Emanuel’s Luke Nikas told Fox News Digital in a statement. “Mr. Baldwin had no reason to believe there was a live bullet in the gun – or anywhere on the set. He relied on the professionals he worked with, who assured that the weapon had no live ammunition. We will fight these charges, and we will win.”

Manslaughter is a Class D felony punishable by 18 months in jail and a $5,000 fine.

Baldwin’s second count is manslaughter in the commission of a lawful act, which “requires proof that there was more than mere negligence involved in a death,” according to the prosecutor’s office. He also faces up to 18 months in prison and a $5,000 fine.

However, this loadout includes an upgrade to the firearm. If convicted of the enhancement, Baldwin would face a mandatory five-year prison sentence.

Alec Baldwin shown on the set of the movie “Rust” in this photo released by the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office.
(Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office)

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