The incident took place in October 2021 on a ranch outside of Santa Fe, New Mexico, while Mr. Baldwin was rehearsing a scene for the Western film Rust.
Hannah Gutierrez Reed, the movie’s armourer, will be arrested as well.
Their legal teams have stated they will defend the allegations in court.
On Thursday, Santa Fe’s district attorney, Mary Carmack-Altwies, stated that charges would be brought by the end of the month.
The statement said,
“Actor and producer Alec Baldwin and armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed will each be charged with two counts of unintentional manslaughter.” “I have decided that there is enough proof.”
“No one is above the law under my watch, and everyone deserves to be treated fairly,” she said.
If found guilty, each could spend up to 18 months in jail and pay a $5,000 (£4,040) fine. Prosecutors said that a jury would decide their fate.
Joel Souza, who makes movies, was also hurt in the shooting, but prosecutors said they wouldn’t charge him for that.
Prosecutors said that the film’s assistant director, David Halls, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of careless use of a deadly weapon. He will be on probation for six months.
In a statement, a lawyer for Matthew Hutchins, Ms. Hutchins’ husband, said he agreed with the charges. “It’s good for the family to know that no one is above the law in New Mexico,” he said.
Luke Nikas, representing Mr. Baldwin, said the decision was “a terrible miscarriage of justice.”
Mr. Nikas said, “Mr. Baldwin had no reason to think there was a real bullet in the gun or anywhere else on the movie set.” “He trusted the people he worked with, who told him the gun didn’t have any live rounds. We’ll fight these accusations and win.”
On the other hand, the lawyer for Ms. Gutierrez Reed said that the announcement was based on “a very flawed investigation and a wrong understanding of the full facts.”
Todd Bullion said, “Hannah has always been and still is very upset and sad about this terrible accident.” “But she did not kill someone by accident.”
Ms. Hutchins died in the hospital soon after Mr. Baldwin shot her in the chest with a fake gun on set. People were blamed for being careless, and calls were made for better safety rules on film sets.
An initial investigation of the incident found “a degree of neglect.” The New Mexico Environment Department fined the producers more than $136,000 for not following safety rules.
Rust Movie Productions, the company that made the movie, said that it wasn’t its job to watch over the film set, much less specific rules like the maintenance and loading of weapons.
Mr. Baldwin said the gun had gone off accidentally after the shooting. He also said that he hadn’t pulled the gun’s trigger and didn’t know it was loaded. “I have no idea what went on on that set. I have no idea how that bullet got into that gun. I’m not sure, “he said.
Mr. Baldwin has also sued several people who worked on the movie, including Ms. Gutierrez Reed and Mr. Halls, who said neither checked the gun carefully enough.
It happened after the cinematographer’s husband sued for wrongful death and said that industry standards had been broken.
In a statement at the time, Mr. Hutchins said, “We all think Halyna’s death was a terrible accident.” “I’m not interested in making up stories or pointing fingers.”
The movie was supposed to be made again this year, and Mr. Hutchins would be the film’s executive producer.
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