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Actor Alec Baldwin will be charged with involuntary manslaughter for shooting cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, US authorities said Thursday.
Hutchins, who was 42 years old, died of a shot of Baldwin on the film set with a prop gun in October 2021.
The actor was rehearsing a scene for the film Rust when the accident occurred at a ranch near Santa Fe, New Mexico.
image source, Reuters
The ranch where the fatal accident occurred.
Baldwin is recognized for his performances in films such as Glengarry Glen Ross (“The Price of Ambition”) and The Hunt For Red October (“The Hunt for Red October”), as well as for his later portrayal of Donald Trump in the American program Saturday Night Live.
Two defendants and two charges
Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the person who was in charge of the guns on the set, will also be charged with manslaughter.
Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies announced in a statement that the charges will be presented at the end of the month.
“Actor and producer Alec Baldwin and gunsmith Hannah Gutiérrez-Reed will be charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter each,” the text reads.
“After a thorough review of the evidence, I have determined that there is sufficient evidence.
“In my charge, no one is above the law and everyone deserves justice,” he adds.
Both could face up to 18 months in jail and a US$5,000 fine if they are found guilty.
They will be judged by a popular jury, according to the prosecutor’s office.
a tragic accident
Baldwin is believed to have fired when he removed the gun from a holster during rehearsals for a later scene.
According to court records, the film’s assistant director, Dave Halls, handed the gun to Baldwin and indicated that it had been discharged by yelling “cold gun.”
Hutchins was airlifted to hospital after the shot, but died of her injuries.
image source, Getty Images
Halyna Hutchins, the cinematographer who died in the incident.
Film director Joel Souza was also injured in the incident, though prosecutors have said no charges will be filed in that connection.
After the shooting, Baldwin claimed that the gun had misfired. He added that he did not pull the trigger and that I didn’t know the gun was loaded.
“I don’t know what happened on that set. I don’t know how that bullet got to that gun. I don’t know,” he declared in December 2021.
Neither Baldwin nor Gutierrez-Reed have commented on the charges yet.
An agreement with the family of the victim
In October 2022, Baldwin and the film’s production company settled with the victim’s family for an undisclosed amount.
The settlement came after the cinematographer’s husband, Matthew Hutchins, filed a wrongful-death lawsuit alleging violations of film industry standards.
“We all believe that Halyna’s death was a terrible accident,” her husband said in a statement at the time, in which he said he had no interest in seeking “recriminations or blame.”
Production on the film was scheduled to resume later this year, with Matthew Hutchins serving as executive producer.
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Alec Baldwin will be charged with involuntary manslaughter for the accidental shooting with which he killed a cinematographer on a set – BBC News Mundo