FOG BLOG U.S. NEWS LOG: CHARGES FILED AGAINST ALEC BALDWIN & 'RUST' MOVIE SET CREW WORKER!

Charges Accusing Alec Baldwin in ‘Rust’ Killing Are Filed in New Mexico

The film’s star, Mr. Baldwin, and its armorer were accused of involuntary manslaughter after its cinematographer was slain by a gun on set that was loaded with a live round. The actor Alec Baldwin and the armorer on the film “Rust” were charged on Tuesday with involuntary manslaughter in the fatal shooting of the movie’s cinematographer, according to court papers, filed in the First Judicial District Court in New Mexico, in which prosecutors accused them of failing to follow standard film safety protocols on set.

In a statement of probable cause against Mr. Baldwin filed in the court, Robert Shilling, a special investigator for the district attorney’s office, outlined the ways that prosecutors claim that the actor had behaved negligently on set. They accused him of not receiving sufficient training on firearms, of failing to deal with safety complaints on set, of “putting his finger on the trigger of a real firearm when a replica or rubber gun should have been used” and of pointing the firearm at the film’s cinematographer and director. “This reckless deviation from known standards and practice and protocol directly caused the fatal shooting,” Mr. Shilling wrote. The prosecutors in the case announced on Jan. 19 that both the film’s armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, and Mr. Baldwin would face criminal charges in the death of the cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins. The news that Mr. Baldwin was being charged prompted a debate about the level of responsibility actors should have regarding gun safety on film sets.

Prosecutors accused Ms. Gutierrez-Reed, the armorer, of “not checking the rounds she was loading into the firearms,” “allowing live rounds on scene” and “allowing ammunition to not be secured.” They also faulted her for failing to stay with the firearm, for allowing Mr. Baldwin to point the firearm at Ms. Hutchins, and for failing to make sure “a rubber or replica gun” was used in rehearsal. They said that Ms. Gutierrez-Reed did not have enough experience or training to be an armorer on a film the size of “Rust,” adding that she “took an armorer position she was not qualified to accept.”