Alec Baldwin to face charges of involuntary manslaughter for Rust shooting case, could face 5 years of prison sentence

Hollywood actor Alec Baldwin will be facing criminal charges in the fatal on-set shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. He will be charged with the involuntary manslaughter in her death. The incident took place during a rehearsal of the western film Rust, in October 2021. (Also read: Alec Baldwin sued by Rust crew member over fatal film set shooting that killed Halyna Hutchins)

Alec Baldwin had fired the shot that killed Halyna Hutchins during the preparation of a scene inside the church building of the Bonanza Creek Ranch near Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA. The armourer, Hannah Gutierrez Reed, had loaded the weapon, who will also be charged with the involuntary manslaughter over the shooting. The charges carry a mandatory minimum sentence of five years. Meanwhile, David Halls, who worked as the production’s assistant director, has also agreed to plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon and will spend six months serving the period of probation.

Mary Carmack-Altwies, who serves as the First Judicial District Attorney in Santa Fe, announced the charges in a statement on Thursday. “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. On my watch, no one is above the law, and everyone deserves justice.” Mary said as she mentioned the charges in her statement and on social media.

As reported by Variety, the special prosecutor appointed by Mary Carmack-Altwies, Andrea Reeb, to oversee the case, said “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.” Meanwhile, Alec Baldwin has earlier said that he was told by the crew that the gun was not loaded. His attorney Luke Nikas, said in a statement his client “had no reason to believe there was a live bullet in the gun” on the day the cinematographer was killed, and went on to condemn the charges pressed against the actor as “a terrible miscarriage of justice.”