Alec Baldwin to be charged with involuntary manslaughter over shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on set of Rust
Alec Baldwin is to be charged with involuntary manslaughter over the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the film Rust.
The film’s armourer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who was responsible for weapons on set, also faces the same charge, while assistant director David Halls has signed a plea agreement for the charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon.
Hutchins, 42, died after a prop gun held by Baldwin, 64, was discharged during rehearsals for the western film in October 2021. Director Joel Souza was also wounded in the incident on the Bonanza Creek Ranch set in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Halyna Hutchins’ family have welcomed the decision
Baldwin’s lawyer said the decision “distorts Halyna Hutchins’ tragic death and represents a terrible miscarriage of justice”, adding: “We will fight these charges, and we will win.”
Hutchins’ family have welcomed the charges, saying they hope the justice system works to “hold accountable those who break the law”.
“No one is above the law, and everyone deserves justice,” Santa Fe’s district attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies said as she made the announcement.
Special prosecutor Andrea Reeb added: “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.”
Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was the armourer on set. File pic: Shutterstock
Prosecutors had been given extra funding of $317,750 (about £282,900) to investigate the high-profile case.
The decision on charges comes about three months after they received the final report on the shooting from the Santa Fe sheriff’s office, following a lengthy investigation also involving the FBI.
“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,” Ms Reeb said.
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‘We will fight, and we will win’
In his full statement, Baldwin’s lawyer Luke Nikas said: “This decision distorts Halyna Hutchins’ tragic death and represents a terrible miscarriage of justice.
“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.”
A lawyer for Gutierrez-Reed said: “Hannah is, and has always been, very emotional and sad about this tragic accident. But she did not commit involuntary manslaughter. 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.”
‘Conscious disregard for human life’
In the statement issued on behalf of Hutchins’ family, lawyer Brian J Panish said: “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. It is a comfort to the family that, in New Mexico, no one is above the law. 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.”
The announcement of criminal charges comes three months after Baldwin and the Rust production company reached a settlement for an undisclosed amount with Hutchins’ family after a wrongful death lawsuit filed by her husband Matthew, and announced that production of the film would resume this year.
A number of other lawsuits have also been filed in relation to the shooting.
What happens now?
Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed will be “charged in the alternative” with two counts of manslaughter, meaning a jury would decide not just whether they are guilty, but under which definition of involuntary manslaughter they are guilty or not guilty.
The first charge can be referred to simply as involuntary manslaughter, prosecutors said, and for this to be proved there must be underlying negligence. Under New Mexico law, involuntary manslaughter is a fourth-degree felony punishable by up to 18 months in jail and a $5,000 fine (about £4,040). This charge also includes the misdemeanour charge of negligent use of a firearm.
The other charge is involuntary manslaughter in the commission of a lawful act, which requires proof that there was more than simple negligence involved. This is also a fourth-degree felony punishable by up to 18 months in jail and up to a $5,000 fine. However, prosecutors said the charge includes an added penalty – because a firearm was involved – which makes the crime punishable by a mandatory five years in jail.
Ms Carmack-Altwies and Ms Reeb will formally file charges before the end of January. After the filing, each defendant will be issued a summons to make a first appearance to a court, either in person or virtually.
The first appearance will be followed by a preliminary hearing in front of a judge, for the district attorney and the special prosecutor to present their case. The judge would then rule whether there is probable cause to move forward with a trial. Preliminary hearings are typically scheduled within 60 days of charges being filed.
Prosecutors said no charges will be filed in relation to Souza’s injuries.
Confirming details of Halls’ plea agreement, they said the terms include a suspended sentence and six months of probation.
Just 36 aid trucks entered Gaza on Saturday – despite the humanitarian situation in the enclave worsening, Palestinian officials have warned.
According to the Gazan government’s media office, most of the humanitarian supplies were looted and stolen – “as a result of the state of security chaos that the Israeli occupation systematically and deliberately perpetuates”.
Officials say at least 600 truckloads of aid are required on a daily basis, adding: “The needs of the population are worsening.”
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Gaza nurse: ‘We’re rationing care’
A statement released late last night called for “the immediate opening of crossings, and the entry of aid and infant formula in sufficient quantities” – and “condemned in the strongest terms the continuation of the crime of starvation”.
Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, refuted this – and accused Hamas of “stirring up a slanderous propaganda campaign against Israel”.
He said: “The cruelty of Hamas has no boundaries. While the State of Israel is allowing the entry of humanitarian aid to the residents of Gaza, the terrorists of Hamas are deliberately starving our hostages and document them in a cynical and evil manner.
“The terrorists of Hamas are deliberately starving the residents of the Strip as well, preventing them from receiving the aid.”
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Aid drops continue over Gaza
It comes as the Palestinian Red Crescent in Gaza said its headquarters in Khan Younis were hit by an Israeli strike, killing one staff member and injuring three others.
Footage posted on social media shows a fire broke out in the building.
Indirect negotiations between Hamas and Israel for a 60-day ceasefire, and a deal for the release of half the hostages still held in Gaza, ended in deadlock last week.
US President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy told the families of the hostages yesterday that he was working with the Israeli government on a plan that would end the war.
Steve Witkoff arrives to meet families of hostages in Tel Aviv. Pic: AP
Steve Witkoff claimed that Hamas was willing to disarm to stop the conflict, despite the group’s repeated statements that it would not do so.
In response, Hamas said it would not disarm unless an independent Palestinian state is established with Jerusalem as its capital.
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After Mr Witkoff’s meeting with the families of the hostages, Hamas released two videos of an emaciated Israeli hostage, Evyatar David, who was abducted from the Nova music festival on 7 October 2023 and has been held in captivity in Gaza since.
The 24-year-old looked skeletal, with his shoulder blades protruding from his back. He was heard saying that he had not eaten for three days. The distressing videos show him digging his own grave, he said in the footage.
Two videos of an emaciated Israeli hostage, Evyatar David, have been released by Hamas, after US special envoy Steve Witkoff this week met with the families of the hostages.
The now 24-year-old looks skeletal, with his shoulder blades protruding from his back, and says he has not eaten for three days.
The distressing videos show him apparently digging his own grave.
He worked in a restaurant, according to a video posted by Labour Friends of Israel, before he was abducted from the Nova music festival on 7 October 2023.
Since then, he has been held in captivity in Gaza, and the videos suggest he is being kept in dark tunnels and surviving on scarce portions of lentils and beans.
Gaza itself is suffering “man-made mass starvation” because of Israel’s blockade on aid to the enclave, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) has previously said.
Evyatar David before he was captured by Hamas. Pic: Hostages and Missing Families Forum
In the video, Evyatar David writes on a hand-made calendar on the wall of a tunnel
In the second video, released on Saturday, Mr David – according to the English subtitles – says: “I haven’t eaten for three days.”
The captions continue as he speaks while in an underground tunnel: “There’s no [sic] enough food. I barely get drinking water.”
The video shows him talking through what he ate in July, which has been recorded on a handmade calendar hung up on the side of an underground Gaza tunnel.
Speaking while under captivity and under duress, he adds: “They give me what they can get.”
At the end of the video, he is digging a hole. The subtitle reads: “This is the grave where I think I’m going to be buried in. Time is running out.”
He then appears to break down, crouching on the floor and leaning his head on his arm while still clinging to the shovel.
A poster released by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum with photos of Evyatar David released in 2023, February this year and July
In a statement, his family said: “We are forced to witness our beloved son and brother, Evyatar David, deliberately and cynically starved in Hamas’s tunnels in Gaza – a living skeleton, buried alive.
“Our son has only a few days left to live in his current condition.”
They added: “Israel and the international community must oppose Hamas’s cruelty and ensure that our Evyatar immediately receives proper nutrition.
“The intentional starvation, torture, and abuse of Evyatar for propaganda purposes violate even the lowest standards of humanitarian law and basic human decency.”
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Gaza nurse: ‘We’re rationing care’
‘Famine’ looms in Gaza
On Friday, US special envoy Steve Witkoff visited a site where the US and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) has been distributing food in Gaza.
Read more: ‘Little confidence’ US Gaza delegation would see full picture
The controversial GHF scheme has been widely condemned, including by the UK government, after fatal shootings ever since it was set up earlier this year.
According to the United Nations’ human rights office, at least 859 people have been killed “in the vicinity” of GHF aid sites since late May.
The Israel Defence Forces has repeatedly said it “categorically rejects the claims of intentional harm to civilians” and has blamed Hamas militants for fomenting chaos and endangering civilians.
Meanwhile, the UN’s Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IFSPC) this week said a “worst-case scenario of famine” was sinking in across the besieged enclave.
It has also said more than 20,000 children have been treated for acute malnutrition since April.
Families of the 50 hostages still in Gaza are concerned they are also starving, and blame Hamas.
On Saturday, Gaza’s health ministry said a further seven Palestinians had died of malnutrition-related causes in the past 24 hours, including a child.
Rescue crews searching for five trapped Chilean miners have discovered a body.
A section of the copper mine had collapsed on Thursday following a strong, 4.2-magnitude tremor.
The remaining four miners are still missing – and rescuers are vowing to continue their search with “strength and hope”.
A man reacts during a vigil at an entrance to El Teniente mine complex. Pic: Reuters/Pablo Sanhueza
Andres Music, general manager of El Teniente mine, said: “This discovery fills us with sadness, but it also tells us that we are in the right place, that the strategy we followed led us to them.”
Crews are trying to drill through 90m (295ft) of rock to reach the trapped miners, but Mr Music said they had not yet made contact with the workers.
Just over a fifth of the blocked underground tunnels have been cleared, with teams hoping to get through about 15m to 20m (49ft to 66ft) every 24 hours using heavy machinery.
He said rescue efforts would continue with increased caution, which could slow progress.
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Two people are now known to have died as a result of the collapse.
Another miner, Paulo Marin Tapia, was found dead on Thursday shortly after the incident.
Codelco, which owns the mine, said the identity of the second man is yet to be confirmed.
Nine other miners were injured.
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