Alec Baldwin To Face Criminal Charges In Fatal 'Rust' Shooting: DA

SANTA FE, NM ? Actor Alec Baldwin and armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed will face manslaughter charges in connection with a deadly shooting on the set of the film "Rust."

New Mexico First Judicial District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies announced Thursday that her office will file criminal charges before the end of the month.

?Rust? actor and producer Baldwin and armorer Gutierrez-Reed will each be charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter in the 2021 death of Halyna Hutchins on the film?s Santa Fe County set. If convicted, they could face five years in prison and a $5,000 fine, according to Carmack-Altwies.

?After a thorough review of the evidence and the laws of the state of New Mexico, I have determined that there is sufficient evidence to file criminal charges against Alec Baldwin and other members of the ?Rust? film crew,? Carmack-Altwies said in a prepared statement. ?On my watch, no one is above the law, and everyone deserves justice.?

The announcement was the culmination of a more than yearlong investigation into the 2021 shooting death of Hutchins. She was killed by a bullet fired from a prop gun wielded by Baldwin while the actor and crew were working to set up filming positions on the set of the Western.

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Assistant director David Halls signed a plea agreement in the case for a charge of the negligent use of a deadly weapon, according to Carmack-Altwies. The terms include a suspended sentence and six months of probation.

No charges will be filed specific to the non-fatal shooting of ?Rust? director Joel Souza, Carmack-Altwies said.

?If any one of these three people ? Alec Baldwin, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed or David Halls ? had done their job, Halyna Hutchins would be alive today. It?s that simple,? said Andrea Reeb, the special prosecutor appointed to the case, in Thursday?s announcement.

?The evidence clearly shows a pattern of criminal disregard for safety on the ?Rust? film set. In New Mexico, there is no room for film sets that don?t take our state?s commitment to gun safety and public safety seriously.?

In a prepared statement on behalf of Hutchins? family tweeted in full by reporter Angenette Levy, attorney Brian Panish thanked law enforcement.

?It is a comfort to the family that, in New Mexico, no one is above the law,? the statement said. ?We support the charges, will fully cooperate with this prosecution, and fervently hope the justice system works to protect the public and hold accountable those who break the law."

Baldwin, Gutierrez-Reed respond

Baldwin?s attorney, Luke Nikas, said in a prepared statement that the decision to charge ?represents a terrible miscarriage of justice,? according to TMZ, which published the statement in full. Baldwin is known for his roles in ?30 Rock? and ?The Hunt for Red October? and his impression of former President Donald Trump on ?Saturday Night Live.?

?Mr. Baldwin had no reason to believe there was a live bullet in the gun ? or anywhere on the movie set,? Nikas said. ?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."

Baldwin has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing in connection with the shooting that killed the 42-year-old Hutchins and wounded Souza. The actor has insisted that he was told the gun he was handed was "cold," containing no live ammunition. He has also said that while he pulled back the hammer of the prop gun, he never pulled the trigger of the weapon, which discharged a live round.

Gutierrez-Reed's attorneys defended her innocence in a prepared statement Thursday.

"Hannah is, and has always been, very emotional and sad about this tragic accident. But she did not commit involuntary manslaughter," lawyers Jason Bowles and Todd Bullion said in the statement.

"These charges are the result of a very flawed investigation and an inaccurate understanding of the full facts. We intend to bring the full truth to light and believe Hannah will be exonerated of wrongdoing by a jury."

Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed will be charged "in the alternative? with the two counts of manslaughter, meaning that a jury would decide if they are guilty and which definition of involuntary manslaughter should apply, according to Carmack-Altwies.

Lawsuits follow fatal shooting

The shooting has led to an array of lawsuits against the film's producers ? including Baldwin, and a series of countersuits. Baldwin, who has described the killing as a "tragic accident," filed a lawsuit targeting Halls, prop master Sarah Zachry and Seth Kenney and his company, PDQ Arm & Prop, which supplied prop weapons and ammunition to the production.

In his lawsuit, Baldwin said that while working on camera angles with Hutchins during rehearsal for a scene, he pointed the gun in her direction and pulled back and released the hammer of the weapon, which discharged. New Mexico?s Office of the Medical Investigator determined the shooting was an accident following the completion of an autopsy and a review of law enforcement reports.

The film's script supervisor, Mamie Mitchell, sued Baldwin and other crew members, saying she suffered emotional distress due to her proximity to the shooting. She was standing next to Hutchins when the shot was fired. Halls, in turn, sued Baldwin, Zachry, Kenney and Gutierrez-Reed.

Hutchins' husband and son filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the film company, saying the production was plagued by safety issues, citing messages and emails circulated among crew members.

On the morning of Hutchins' death, "the safety dangers of the production had reached a crisis point," according to the 29-page lawsuit. "The local camera crew members were so upset by the producers' utter disregard for ... safety that they protested the safety conditions by going on strike." Seven crew members walked off the set just hours before the fatal shooting amid discord over working conditions.

The family settled the lawsuit against producers under an agreement that aimed to restart filming with widower Matthew Hutchin?s involvement as executive producer.

Live ammunition on set

Last year, the state of New Mexico announced a nearly $140,000 fine against the film's production company over the shooting. The state's Occupational Health and Safety Bureau determined firearm-safety procedures were not being followed on the set and concluded that producers showed "plain indifference to employee safety."

Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza, who led the initial investigation into Hutchins' death, described ?a degree of neglect? on the film set. However, he left decisions about potential criminal charges to prosecutors after delivering the results of the investigation in October.

Investigators initially found 500 rounds of ammunition at the movie set on the outskirts of Santa Fe ? a mix of blanks, dummy rounds and what appeared to be live rounds. Industry experts have said live rounds should have never been on set. The sheriff's report did not specify how live ammunition wound up on the set.

City News Service and the Associated Press contributed to this story.