Alec Baldwin charged with involuntary manslaughter for Rust shooting of Halyna Hutchins

Alec Baldwin has officially been charged with involuntary manslaughter for shooting dead Halyna Hucthins on the set of their movie Rust in October 2021. 

Prosecutors in Santa Fe, New Mexico, formally filed charges today. 

They announced their intention to charge Baldwin earlier this month, but delayed filing the paperwork to allow themselves time to explain the controversial decision. 

Armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed has also been charged with involuntary manslaughter

Baldwin has vowed to fight the charges. He says he never pulled the trigger, and that it was a tragic accident. 

If convicted, he faces up to five years in prison. Armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed has also been charged. 

Among the papers filed Tuesday is a 10-page probable cause affidavit which claims Baldwin gave ‘inconsistent accounts’ about how the shooting happened, at first telling police he ‘fired’ the gun, then insisting he did not pull the trigger. 

The affidavit also claims there is surveillance footage of Baldwin on the day in question, in the immediate lead up to the accident, with his hand on the trigger. 

Among the documents filed with the court today a 10-page probable cause affidavit that describes Baldwin putting his finger ‘inside of the trigger guard and on the trigger’ on the say of the shooting and moments beforehand 

Baldwin and his wife Hilaria in New York City today. He will not have to travel to New Mexico for his first court appearance 

They also say he did not undergo proper gun safety training, and that he was talking to his family on his cell phone when he was meant to have been learning how to handle the weapon.

‘Photo and video evidence from inside the church on the day of the shooting show some of the rehearsal up to and including moments before the shooting. 

‘The photos and videos clearly show Baldwin multiple times with his finger inside of the trigger guard and on the trigger, while manipulating the hammer and while drawing, pointing and holstering the revolver.’ 

‘Baldwin knew the first rule of gun safety is to never point a gun at someone you don’t intend on shooting,’ the document continues. 

Baldwin claimed in interviews after the shooting that he did not pull the trigger. 

He believes the fault lies with the armorer, who he says should have checked the gun was safe before it was handed to him. 

Halyna Hutchins, 42, was shot and killed on the movie set on October 21