Alec Baldwin Officially Charged In ‘Rust’ Shooting
Charges have now been officially filed against Alec Baldwin in the fatal ‘Rust’ shooting that claimed the life of the film’s cinematographer as of Jan. 31.
Alec Baldwin, 64, has officially been charged with involuntary manslaughter for the fatal Rust shooting that left director of photography Halyna Hutchins dead at the age of 42 on October 21, 2021. The charges were filed on Jan. 31, by the New Mexico First Judicial District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies, according to The New York Post. Along with Alec, the film’s armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, 25, was also charged, per a statement released by the New Mexico DA office on Monday. “The District Attorney and the special prosecutor are fully focused on securing justice for Halyna Hutchins,” said First Judicial District Attorney’s Office spokesperson Heather Brewer. “The evidence and the facts speak for themselves.
The filing took place via email and according to the statement, “the District Attorney and Special Prosecutor Andrea Reeb will not make any public appearances or grant any media interviews.” The charges come just over a week after Mary had announced she would be moving forward with the charges. “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,” she said in a statement to HollywoodLife at the time.
During the Jan. 19 informal decision to move forward with the charges, Alec’s attorney Luke Nikas of Quinn Emanuel said that the 64-year-old would fight the charges. “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,” he said in a statement, obtained by HL.
At the time of the incident, Alec was on set filming Rust, a film he is credited as on of the producers on. Sadly, the father-of-seven was holding a gun that fired on set and resulted in the death of the late cinematographer. After Halyna’s passing, her family filed a wrongful death lawsuit to attempt to get justice for her. “This son has lost his mother. It is a young boy who will never have a mother,” the family’s lawyer said at the time. “And a man who lost his wife, his soulmate. That goes on forever and ever.”
Following the tragic incident, Alec went on to do multiple interviews to react to the events that took place. “I would go to any lengths to undo what happened,” he said during a Dec. 2021 interview with ABC News. During the interview, Alec insisted he was innocent. “The trigger wasn’t pulled. I didn’t pull the trigger,” he said. Later, Halyna’s husband, Matthew Hutchings, told NBC News that he was upset at Alec. “I was just so angry to see him talk about her death so publicly in such a detailed way and then to not accept any responsibility after having just described killing her,” he said.
Just two days before the formal charges were filed against Alec, his wife, Hilaria Baldwin, 39, broke her silence on the matter during an episode of her podcast Witches Anonymous on Jan. 29. “It’s been an emotional time for my family and I do so want to express to you how grateful I am for your support and your kindness and your reason,” she said, via PEOPLE. “Quite honestly, without it, we would crumble. So thank you so much for being our rock right now because I don’t feel so strong.”
The proud mom also noted how to have tough conversations with kids and how some conversations are too adult for kids. “Kids are sponges and certain conversations are not always age-appropriate; we cannot deny that they don’t feel the energy and pick up on certain things in the family,” she said. Hilaria is Alec’s second wife and they have been married since 2012.