Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Prosecutors to Announce Decision in Shooting by Alec Baldwin
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 2 years ago on
January 19, 2023

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

The Santa Fe district attorney will announce Thursday whether charges will be brought in the fatal 2021 film-set shooting of a cinematographer by actor Alec Baldwin during a rehearsal of the Western “Rust.”

Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies said the announcement will come in a statement and on social media, without public appearances by prosecutors.

“The announcement will be a solemn occasion, made in a manner keeping with the office’s commitment to upholding the integrity of the judicial process and respecting the victim’s family,” said Heather Brewer, a spokeswoman for the district attorney’s office.

Cinematographer Halyna 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. Baldwin was pointing a pistol at Hutchins when the gun went off, killing her and wounding the director, Joel Souza.

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.

Taking control of the investigation, Carmack-Altwies was granted an emergency $300,000 request for the state to pay for a special prosecutor, special investigator and other experts and personnel.

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 as a “tragic accident.”

He sought to clear his name by suing people involved in handling and supplying the loaded gun that was handed to him on the 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 weapon, 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 the 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.

The armorer who oversaw firearms on the set, Hannah Gutierrez Reed, has been the subject of much of the scrutiny in the case, along with an independent ammunition supplier. An attorney for Gutierrez Reed has said she did not put a live round in the gun that killed Hutchins, and she believes she was the victim of sabotage. Authorities said they have 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 a medical 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 Hutchin’s involvement as executive producer.

“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.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Fresno Police Officer Arrested on Sexual Battery Charges

DON'T MISS

Mayor Baraka of Newark, New Jersey, Arrested at ICE Detention Center He Has Been Protesting

DON'T MISS

FDA Will Allow Three New Color Additives Made From Minerals, Algae and Flower Petals

DON'T MISS

Pentagon Directs Military to Pull Library Books That Address Diversity, Anti-Racism, Gender Issues

DON'T MISS

Fresno Pays the Most for Electricity. What Are Lawmakers Doing About It?

DON'T MISS

Freed Palestinian Student Accuses Columbia University of Inciting Violence

DON'T MISS

First At-Home Test Kit for Cervical Cancer Approved by the FDA, Company Says

DON'T MISS

US to Accept White South African Refugees While Other Programs Remain Paused

DON'T MISS

15 States Sue Over Trump’s Move to Fast-Track Oil and Gas Projects via His ‘Energy Emergency’ Order

DON'T MISS

New Fresno Judge Baloian Uses Experience on Both Sides of Legal Table

UP NEXT

Trump Says He Will Put 100% Tariff on Movies Made Outside US

UP NEXT

Jury Selection Underway in Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ Sex Trafficking Trial

UP NEXT

Grand Theft Auto VI Delayed Again, This Time Until May 2026

UP NEXT

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Trial to Delve Into the Seediest Side of Rap’s ‘Bad Boy’

UP NEXT

Here’s Why May the 4th Is Celebrated as Star Wars Day Across the Galaxy

UP NEXT

Lady Gaga to Draw 1.6 Million Fans to Copacabana, Boosting Brazilian Airlines and Rio’s Economy

UP NEXT

Fresno’s Audra McDonald Earns 11th Tony Nomination, Eyes Record Seventh Win for ‘Gypsy’

UP NEXT

This Summer at the Movies, Superheroes, From ‘Superman’ to ‘Fantastic Four,’ Return

UP NEXT

Kim Kardashian Jewel Heist Trial Starts in Paris

UP NEXT

Fresno Ranks Fourth in US for an Affordable Night Out

Pentagon Directs Military to Pull Library Books That Address Diversity, Anti-Racism, Gender Issues

43 minutes ago

Fresno Pays the Most for Electricity. What Are Lawmakers Doing About It?

44 minutes ago

Freed Palestinian Student Accuses Columbia University of Inciting Violence

45 minutes ago

First At-Home Test Kit for Cervical Cancer Approved by the FDA, Company Says

48 minutes ago

US to Accept White South African Refugees While Other Programs Remain Paused

52 minutes ago

15 States Sue Over Trump’s Move to Fast-Track Oil and Gas Projects via His ‘Energy Emergency’ Order

57 minutes ago

New Fresno Judge Baloian Uses Experience on Both Sides of Legal Table

1 hour ago

Leo XIV’s Service to Poor Propelled Him to Papacy, Cardinals Say

1 hour ago

The State Law Taking a Financial Toll on California Budgets

1 hour ago

Iran to Send Russia Launchers for Short-Range Missiles, Sources Say

2 hours ago

Fresno Police Officer Arrested on Sexual Battery Charges

A Fresno police officer has been arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor sexual battery following an investigation into an off-duty incident ea...

28 minutes ago

Photo of the front of Fresno Police Headquarters
28 minutes ago

Fresno Police Officer Arrested on Sexual Battery Charges

36 minutes ago

Mayor Baraka of Newark, New Jersey, Arrested at ICE Detention Center He Has Been Protesting

39 minutes ago

FDA Will Allow Three New Color Additives Made From Minerals, Algae and Flower Petals

43 minutes ago

Pentagon Directs Military to Pull Library Books That Address Diversity, Anti-Racism, Gender Issues

44 minutes ago

Fresno Pays the Most for Electricity. What Are Lawmakers Doing About It?

45 minutes ago

Freed Palestinian Student Accuses Columbia University of Inciting Violence

48 minutes ago

First At-Home Test Kit for Cervical Cancer Approved by the FDA, Company Says

52 minutes ago

US to Accept White South African Refugees While Other Programs Remain Paused

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend