Alec Baldwin has been officially charged with involuntary manslaughter over the death of Halyna Hutchins.
The 42-year-old cinematographer was killed on a set of the Western movie Rust back in October 2021 when Baldwin allegedly pulled the trigger after being handed a loaded gun.
Formal charges against the 64-year-old actor were filed by prosecutors in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on Tuesday, whereas DA Mary Carmack-Altwies claimed that Baldwin didn’t complete firearms training before the shooting of the film began.
Court documents also claim that the actor appeared uninterested and preoccupied with his phone during a one-hour-long session on the matter.
The prosecutors further alleged that “reckless deviation from known standards and practice and protocol” was noted and that Baldwin failed to carry out two standard safety checks before handling the gun.
“Today we have taken another important step in securing justice for Halyna Hutchins. In New Mexico, no one is above the law and justice will be served,” Carmack-Altwies said.
Investigators also suggested the Rust armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed equally failed to follow the protocol for handling firearms.
“Standard protocol is the armorer is to show the actor the firearm, pull the bullets out in front of the actor, and demonstrate there are no live rounds (but dummies) in the firearm. Hannah Gutierrez-Reed did not do this protocol in front of Baldwin. Baldwin did not object,” they said.
Meanwhile, Baldwin and his team vowed to fight the charge while insisting the actor never pulled the trigger.
“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,” attorney Luke Nikas said while calling the charges against his client a “terrible miscarriage of justice.”
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