SANTA FE, NM (AP) — A Santa Fe district attorney will announce Thursday whether charges will be filed against actor Alec Baldwin’s fatal 2021 shooting of a cameraman during a rehearsal of the western’s “Rest.”
What you need to know
- Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies says a decision will be announced Thursday in a statement and on social media platforms
- Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins died shortly after being shot while setting up a farm scene on a film set on October 21, 2021
- Baldwin pointed a gun at Hutchins when the gun went off, killing her and wounding the director, Joel Souza.
- Hutchins’ death influenced the negotiation of safety provisions in union contracts for film crews with Hollywood producers and prompted other filmmakers to choose computer-generated footage of gunfire over real guns with blank ammunition to minimize risk.
Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies said a decision will be announced Thursday morning in a statement and on social media, with no public appearances from prosecutors.
“The announcement will be a solemn occasion, made in a manner consistent with the firm’s commitment to upholding the integrity of the judicial process and respecting the victim’s family,” said Heather Brewer, a spokeswoman for the attorney general’s office. the prosecutor.
Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins died shortly after being wounded by a gunshot while setting up a scene at the ranch on the outskirts of Santa Fe on October 21, 2021. Baldwin pointed a gun at Hutchins when the gun went off, killing her and injuring the woman . 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 possible criminal charges to prosecutors after presenting the results of a years-long investigation in October. That report did not specify how live ammunition ended up on the film set.
Carmack-Altwies took charge of the investigation and obtained a $300,000 emergency 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” — described Hutchins’ murder as a “tragic accident.”
He has attempted to clear his name by suing people involved in handling and supplying the loaded gun handed to him on set. Baldwin, also a co-producer of “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 backed away releasing the gun’s hammer, which went off.
The New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator determined the shooting was accidental after completing an autopsy and review of law enforcement reports.
New Mexico’s Occupational Health and Safety Bureau has imposed the maximum fine on Rust Movie Productions, based on a damning story of safety errors, including testimony that production executives took limited or no action to remove two misfires of live ammunition on set prior to the fatal shooting to deal with .
Rust Movie Productions continues to challenge the basis of a $137,000 fine by regulators who say production managers on set did not follow standard industry protocols for firearm safety.
The gunsmith who oversaw firearms on set, Hannah Gutierrez Reed, has been the subject of much of the investigation in the case, along with an independent ammunition supplier. A lawyer for Gutierrez Reed has said the gunmaker did not put a live bullet in the gun that killed Hutchins, and believes she was the victim of sabotage. Authorities said they found no evidence of that.
Investigators initially found 500 rounds of ammunition on 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 records, including lapel camera video of the mortally wounded Hutchins slipping in and out of consciousness as an evacuation helicopter arrived. Witness interviews, email threads, text conversations, ammunition inventories, and hundreds of photographs rounded out that evidence collection.
State workplace safety regulators said immediate gun safety concerns were addressed when “Rust” stopped filming, and that a return to filming in New Mexico would be accompanied by new safety inspections.
Hutchins’ family – widower Matthew Hutchins and son Andros – settled a lawsuit against producers under an agreement that aims to resume filming with Matthew’s involvement as executive producer.
“Rest” has been beset by disputes since its inception in early October 2021. Seven crew members left the set just hours before the fatal shooting amid disagreements over working conditions.
Hutchins’ death influenced the negotiation of safety provisions in union contracts for film crews with Hollywood producers and prompted other filmmakers to choose computer-generated footage of gunfire over real guns with blank ammunition to minimize risk.