American actor Alec Baldwin, author of a fatal shooting on the set of the film “Rust” in 2021, will be charged with manslaughter, a prosecutor announced Thursday.
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The film’s gunwoman Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who handled the gun, is facing the same charge, Santa Fe County District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies said in a statement.
On October 21, 2021, this shooting on a ranch in New Mexico had turned tragic when Mr. Baldwin had activated a weapon supposed to contain only blank bullets, but whose very real projectile had killed the cinematographer Halyna Hutchins , 42, and injured director Joel Souza.
This rare news item had shocked Hollywood and had a strong impact, triggering calls to ban firearms on the sets.
“After careful review of the evidence and the laws of New Mexico, I have determined that there is sufficient evidence to bring criminal charges against Alec Baldwin and other members of the +Rust+ film crew” , said Mary Carmack-Altwies.
“Under my watch, no one is above the law, and everyone deserves justice,” she added.
The charges will be formally filed “by the end of the month,” said the prosecutor. If convicted, Alec Baldwin and Hannah Gutierrez-Reed risk up to 18 months in prison.
The actor’s lawyer, Luke Nikas, immediately denounced a “terrible miscarriage of justice”.
“Mr. Baldwin had no reason to believe a live ammunition was in the gun, or anywhere else at the shooting location.”
Alec Baldwin, 64, best known for the ’30 Rock’ series, has always said he was assured his gun was harmless. Executive assistant David Halls, who had given him the weapon informing him that it was not dangerous, pleaded guilty to negligence while using a deadly weapon.
The star also maintained that he did not pull the trigger, a claim questioned by experts.
“If any of these three people – Alec Baldwin, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed or David Halls – had done their job, Halyna Hutchins would still be alive today. It’s as simple as that, ”said prosecutor Andrea Reeb, responsible for working on the case.
The evidence shows “a criminal disregard for security on the set of + Rust +”, she judged.
The police investigation focused in particular on determining how live ammunition could have been found on the set, which is in theory strictly prohibited, precisely to avoid accidents.
Officers concluded that the shooting gunsmith, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, put the ammunition in the gun used by Alec Baldwin, instead of a dummy bullet.
In August, the actor said he expected no one to be charged, telling CNN he had hired a private detective to establish responsibilities in the case.
The tragedy gave rise to a flurry of civil lawsuits from several members of the team.
In October, Alec Baldwin announced that he had reached an agreement ending the civil lawsuits brought by Ms Hutchins’ family.
Its amount was not disclosed.
At the time, the resumption of the filming of “Rust” had also been announced for the beginning of 2023.