Alec Baldwin formally charged with involuntary manslaughter over Rust shooting

Actor has denied that he pulled trigger of weapon during rehearsal on New Mexico set in 2021

Alec Baldwin has been formally charged with involuntary manslaughter over the fatal shooting of Rust cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during a rehearsal on the New Mexico film set in 2021.

Prosecutors filed the felony charges against the actor, who allegedly pointed a gun at Hutchins that went off and fatally shot her, on Tuesday (31 January), according to Albuquerque TV station KOAT.

Hutchins died after being struck by a live bullet at Bonanza Creek Ranch on the outskirts of Santa Fe, New Mexico, on 21 October 2021. Joel Souza, the director of the film Rust, was also shot and injured but survived the incident.

Santa Fe district attorney Mary Carmavk-Altwies announced earlier this month that charges would be brought against both Baldwin and set armourer Hanna Gutierrez-Reed over the death.

The film’s assistant director, Dave Halls, has already signed a plea agreement for the charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon. Under the plea deal, he will get a suspended sentence and serve six months of probation.

Baldwin, who is also a co-producer on the Western movie, told investigators that he was informed the gun was safe and has denied he pulled the trigger. An FBI report stated that the gun could not, however, have been fired unless the trigger of the .45-caliber revolver was pulled.

“This decision distorts Halyna Hutchins’ tragic death and represents a terrible miscarriage of justice,” Baldwin’s lawyer, Luke Nikas, said when the charges were announced. “We will fight these charges and we will win.”

Halyna Hutchins died after being struck by a live bullet on set of ‘Rust’ (Getty Images)

Defence attorney Jason Bowles, who represents Gutierrez-Reed, has said the charges have been brought because of a “flawed investigation” and an “inaccurate understanding of the full facts”.

Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed each face up to 18 months in prison if convicted, plus a potential five-year enhancement for the use of a firearm.

Hutchins’s family welcomed charges being brought against Baldwin when they were initially announced.

“It is a comfort to the family that, in New Mexico, no one is above the law,” lawyer Brian Panish said in a statement for Hutchins’s husband Matthew.