Fatal shooting on “Rust”: Alec Baldwin formally charged with manslaughter

American actor Alec Baldwin, involved in the fatal shooting on the set of the film Rust in 2021, has been formally charged with manslaughter, announced Mary Carmack-Altwies, district attorney for Santa Fe County in New Mexico, on Tuesday January 31. The film's gunsmith, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who had handled the weapon, faces the same charge. “No one is above the law and justice will be served,” she insisted in a statement.

On October 21, 2021, this film set on a ranch in New Mexico turned tragic when Alex Baldwin fired a weapon supposed to contain only blank bullets, but whose very real projectile had killed the director of photography, Halyna Hutchins, and injured the director, Joel Souza. This rare news item shocked Hollywood and had a strong impact, triggering calls to ban firearms on the sets, where the presence of live ammunition is in theory already prohibited.

If convicted of simple manslaughter, Alec Baldwin and Hannah Gutierrez-Reed risk up to 18 months in prison. But this sentence could be increased to a maximum of five years in prison in the event of aggravated negligence. Executive assistant David Halls, who had given him the weapon informing him that it was not dangerous, was accused of negligence when handling a deadly weapon. Lawsuits he chose not to contest.

In August, Alec Baldwin said he expected no one to be charged, telling CNN that he had hired a private detective to establish responsibility in the case. The drama resulted in a flurry of civil lawsuits, filed by several members of the team. In October, Alec Baldwin announced that he had reached an agreement ending the civil lawsuits brought by the family of Halyna Hutchins. Its amount was not disclosed. At the time, filming of Rust was also announced to resume for early 2023. The widower of the late cinematographer, Matthew Hutchins, was to be promoted to executive producer of the film.