A Santa Fe district attorney announced Thursday that her office will bring criminal charges against actor Alec Baldwin and armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed in the fatal 2021 film-set shooting of a cinematographer during a rehearsal of the Western “Rust.”
Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies said in a statement that Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed will each be charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter in the death of Halyna Hutchins.
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“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. “On my watch, no one is above the law, and everyone deserves justice.”
The charges will be issued by the end of the month and prosecutors will forgo a grand jury, rely instead on a judge to determine if there is probable cause to move toward trial.
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Baldwin's attorney called the decision "a terrible miscarriage of justice" and vowed to the fight the charges.
"This decision distorts Halyna Hutchins’ tragic death and represents a terrible miscarriage of justice," attorney Luke Nikas said in a statement to NBC News. "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.”
An attorney for Gutierrez-Reed said the charges were “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,” Jason Bowles said.
If convicted of the charge, a fourth-degree felony, they face up to 18 months in jail and a $5,000 fine under New Mexico law.
Additionally, assistant director David Halls has signed a plea agreement for the charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon. Halls won't serve a prison sentence and will instead face six months of probation.
No charges will be filed for the shooting of “Rust” director Joel Souza, who was wounded when the pistol Baldwin was pointing at Hutchins went off.
Hutchins died shortly after being wounded by a gunshot during setup for a scene at the ranch on the outskirts of Santa Fe on Oct. 21, 2021.
Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza, who led the initial investigation into Hutchins' death, described “a degree of neglect” on the film set. But he left decisions about potential criminal charges to prosecutors after delivering the results of a yearlong investigation in October. That report did not specify how live ammunition wound up on the film set.
Baldwin — 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” — has described the killing of Hutchins as a “tragic accident.”
He has sought to clear his name by suing people involved in handling and supplying the loaded gun that was handed to him on set. Baldwin, also a co-producer on “Rust,” said he was told the gun was safe.
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 gun, 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.
New Mexico’s Occupational Health and Safety Bureau has levied the maximum fine against Rust Movie Productions, based on a scathing narrative of safety failures, including testimony that production managers took limited or no action to address two misfires of blank ammunition on set prior to the fatal shooting.
Rust Movie Productions continues to challenge the basis of a $137,000 fine by regulators who say production managers on the set failed to follow standard industry protocols for firearms safety.
Gutierrez-Reed, the armorer who oversaw firearms on the set, has been the subject of much of the scrutiny in the case, along with an independent ammunition supplier. An attorney for Gutierrez-Reed previously said the armorer did not put a live round in the gun that killed Hutchins, and believes she was the victim of sabotage. Authorities said they’ve found no evidence of that.
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 never be on set.
In April 2022, the Santa Fe Sheriff’s Department released a trove of files including lapel camera video of the mortally wounded Hutchins slipping in and out of consciousness as an evacuation helicopter arrived. Witness interrogations, email threads, text conversations, inventories of ammunition and hundreds of photographs rounded out that collection of evidence.
State workplace safety regulators said that immediate gun-safety concerns were addressed when “Rust” ceased filming, and that a return to filming in New Mexico would be accompanied by new safety inspections.
The family of Hutchins — widower Matthew Hutchins and son Andros — settled a lawsuit against producers under an agreement that aims to restart filming with Matthew’s involvement as executive producer.
On Thursday, an attorney for the Hutchins family said they support the charges filed by prosecutors and are comforted by the fact that "in New Mexico, no one is above the law."
"We want to thank the Santa Fe Sheriff and the District Attorney for concluding their thorough investigation and determining that charges for involuntary manslaughter are warranted for the killing of Halyna Hutchins with conscious disregard for human life. Our independent investigation also supports charges are warranted," Brian Panish said in a statement, adding they "fervently hope the justice system works to protect the public and hold accountable those who break the law."
“Rust” was beset by disputes from the start in early October 2021. Seven crew members walked off the set just hours before the fatal shooting amid discord over working conditions.
Hutchins' death has influenced negotiations over safety provisions in film crew union contracts with Hollywood producers and spurred other filmmakers to choose computer-generated imagery of gunfire rather than real weapons with blank ammunition to minimize risks.
Associated Press reporter Morgan Lee contributed to this story.
