On October 21, 2021, actor Alec Baldwin shot Halyna Hutchins, a talented cinematographer, on the set of the movie Rust. But he has repeatedly maintained his innocence, noting that he was unaware of the live bullet rounds.
Two years after the incident, a grand jury in New Mexico indicted Baldwin of involuntary manslaughter on January 19, 2024. Here are all the details you need to know about the case.
Did Alec Baldwin Shot Halyna Hutchins Intentionally?
During a rehearsal scene, Baldwin’s character, Harland Rust, had to draw an old-fashioned revolver and point toward the camera.
However, the weapon fired, and a bullet struck Miss Hutchins in the chest and wounded the director, Joel Souza. Hutchins, 42, was airlifted to a hospital in Albuquerque, but she died later. Meanwhile, Souza, 48, was taken by ambulance to a hospital in Santa Fe.
Alec, the movie’s producer, said he was not responsible for the death of his movie’s cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins.
Baldwin said that the gun did not contain any live rounds, and he didn’t know where the live ammunition came from on the set. Likewise, he further stated that he didn’t pull the trigger when the gun fired.
Who was Halyna Hutchins?
Halyna Hutchins was a skilled cinematographer who was deeply committed to her work. She grew up on a Soviet military base in the Arctic Circle. Likewise, she studied economics in Ukraine before switching to a journalism program at Kyiv National University.
Hutchins later attended the American Film Institute Conservatory in Los Angeles. After the tragic incident where Alec Baldwin shot Halyna Hutchins, her family filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against crew members and producers.
As part of a settlement, Halyna’s husband, Matthew Hutchins, was made an executive producer on the film. The western drama movie has finished its production.
Where Did The Bullet Came From?
In the aftermath of the shooting, investigators found five additional live rounds on the set. But the law enforcement officials are still investigating about how they wound up there.
A forensic report commissioned by the prosecution determined that Baldwin must have pulled the trigger for it to go off. But, the actor said that he pulled back the hammer of the gun and that when he released it, without pulling the trigger, the weapon discharged.
“Someone put a live bullet in a gun, someone is responsible and I can’t say who that is, but I know it’s not me.”
As per the three former members of the film’s crew, there were at least two accidental gun discharges on the set days before the fatal shooting.
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Actor Alec Baldwin Faces Involuntary Manslaughter Charge
The indictment on January 19, 2024, charged Alec Baldwin with two different counts of involuntary manslaughter. However, he can be convicted of only one felony.
The first accuses him of “total disregard or indifference for the safety of others,” while the other accuses him of the negligent use of a firearm.
Baldwin initially faced charges of involuntary manslaughter in January 2023. But a new set of prosecutors dropped the charges three months later.
The district attorney for Santa Fe County, Mary Carmack-Altwies, had originally appointed a special prosecutor, Andrea Reeb, to assist her on the “Rust” case.
A new prosecution team, Kari T. Morrissey and Jason J. Lewis decided to present the case to a grand jury, which indicted Mr. Baldwin on Friday. However, Alec’s lawyers, Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro, said they look forward to their day in court.
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