New Mexico District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies formally announced the state will charge Alec Baldwin and armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed in the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. Baldwin pointed and shot a weapon controlled by Gutierrez Reed, shooting Hutchins in the chest, killing her.

Alec Baldwin to be Charged in ‘Rust’ Fatal Shooting

Baldwin previously maintained he never pulled the trigger or fired the gun. He also claimed he never knew the pistol held a live round. Gutirrez Reed served as the movie’s armorer. She would have been heavily involved in the weapon’s chain of custody on that fateful day.

“We will not be asking for an arrest,” the district attorney told CNN. “We’ll send out what’s called a summons. From that, the court will set what’s called a first appearance, or, it’s basically an arraignment. And at that point they will either have to come here (to New Mexico) or they might do a video arraignment, we have been doing those since Covid, and they will get their conditions of release and enter not guilty pleas.”

The district attorney further painted a picture of accountability and responsibility. Even though the officials believe this to be an accident, that fact doesn’t remove those responsible, via negligence, from being held accountable for their actions.

Gun Responsibility & Accountability

“Every person that handles a gun has a duty to make sure, if they are going to handle that gun – point it at someone and pull the trigger – that it is not going to fire a projectile and kill someone, and this is really about justice for Halyna Hutchins,” Carmack-Altwies told CNN.

Baldwin served two roles in the making of “Rust.” The actor also served as a producer, putting more responsibility and accountability on his shoulders.

“He’s being charged as both. He was the actor that pulled the trigger, so certainly he’s charged as an actor, but also as a producer he also had a duty to make sure that the set was safe,” said Carmack-Altwies, noting that people on set had complained about the lax safety and there had been accidental misfires prior to this fatal incident, reported CNN. “He should have been aware that safety was an issue on set and then as an actor that day, he should have checked that gun, checked those projectiles,” she said.