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

Will This $13 Million Contract Make Fresno Schools Cooler?

DON'T MISS

Bakersfield Hatchet-Wielding Man Gets 2 Years for Breaking Into Post Office

DON'T MISS

Deadlines for Fresno Housing Academic Scholarships Are Near

DON'T MISS

CA Bill Would Stop PG&E From Sticking Ratepayers With Ad and Lobbying Costs

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Hires Two New Department Heads

DON'T MISS

Track and Field to Be First Olympic Sport Requiring DNA Sex Tests for Women

DON'T MISS

Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett Mocks Wheelchair-Bound Greg Abbott as ‘Gov. Hot Wheels’

DON'T MISS

Appeals Court Allows Trump to Suspend Approval of New Refugees Amid Lawsuit

DON'T MISS

Sacramento State Hires Former NBA Star Mike Bibby as New Basketball Coach

DON'T MISS

New CA System Tells You When and Where Pesticides Are Applied

UP NEXT

‘Juntos’ Tour Brings Regional Mexican Superstars to Fresno This Summer

UP NEXT

Jury Finds Greenpeace Liable for Hundreds of Millions in Damages

UP NEXT

Jesse Colin Young, Singer Who Urged Us to ‘Get Together,’ Dies at 83

UP NEXT

Tracy Morgan Says He’s OK, Food Poisoning Caused Incident at Knicks-Heat Game

UP NEXT

Polish PM Offers Jesse Eisenberg Military Training for ‘James Bond’ Role

UP NEXT

Multi-Platinum Artist Chris Young to Bring Country Hits to Tachi Palace

UP NEXT

Country Star Clint Black Brings ‘Back on the Blacktop’ Tour to Chukchansi

UP NEXT

The One-Take Wonder of ‘Adolescence,’ a Family Drama About Knife Crime

UP NEXT

Billy Gunn Not the One as AEW Hits Fresno on Wednesday

UP NEXT

Gene Hackman Died of Heart Disease, Wife Died of Hantavirus, Authorities Say

CA Bill Would Stop PG&E From Sticking Ratepayers With Ad and Lobbying Costs

17 hours ago

Fresno County Hires Two New Department Heads

19 hours ago

Track and Field to Be First Olympic Sport Requiring DNA Sex Tests for Women

19 hours ago

Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett Mocks Wheelchair-Bound Greg Abbott as ‘Gov. Hot Wheels’

19 hours ago

Appeals Court Allows Trump to Suspend Approval of New Refugees Amid Lawsuit

20 hours ago

Sacramento State Hires Former NBA Star Mike Bibby as New Basketball Coach

20 hours ago

New CA System Tells You When and Where Pesticides Are Applied

20 hours ago

Stanford Football Coach Fired After Alleged Mistreatment Investigation

20 hours ago

5 High-Level CDC Officials Are Leaving in the Latest Turmoil for the Public Health Agency

20 hours ago

Fresno Man Pleads Guilty After Mistaking Undercover Officer for a Prostitute

20 hours ago

Will This $13 Million Contract Make Fresno Schools Cooler?

Fresno Unified trustees are scheduled to consider a $13 million contract with a Southern California-headquartered company to work on HVAC sy...

15 hours ago

15 hours ago

Will This $13 Million Contract Make Fresno Schools Cooler?

16 hours ago

Bakersfield Hatchet-Wielding Man Gets 2 Years for Breaking Into Post Office

17 hours ago

Deadlines for Fresno Housing Academic Scholarships Are Near

17 hours ago

CA Bill Would Stop PG&E From Sticking Ratepayers With Ad and Lobbying Costs

19 hours ago

Fresno County Hires Two New Department Heads

Staff members prepare the start line at Stade de France in Paris during the 2024 Summer Olympics, Aug. 3, 2024. Track and field will introduce mandatory DNA sex testing for athletes entering female competitions, its global leader said on Tuesday, March 25, 2025, making it the first Olympic sport to add the requirement. (Chang W. Lee/The New York Times)
19 hours ago

Track and Field to Be First Olympic Sport Requiring DNA Sex Tests for Women

Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, questions the witnesses during a House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency hearing on Capitol Hill, Feb. 12, 2025, in Washington. (AP File)
19 hours ago

Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett Mocks Wheelchair-Bound Greg Abbott as ‘Gov. Hot Wheels’

President Donald Trump speaks at the National Prayer Breakfast at the Capitol in Washington, Feb. 6, 2025. (AP File)
20 hours ago

Appeals Court Allows Trump to Suspend Approval of New Refugees Amid Lawsuit

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

Search

Send this to a friend