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Alec Baldwin charged with involuntary manslaughter in 'Rust' movie shooting

Alec Baldwin charged with involuntary manslaughter in 'Rust' movie shooting
THIS IS BREAKING NEWS. WE ARE BREAKING INTO PROGRAMING WITH A MAJOR DEVELOPMENT OUT OF THE RUST MOVIE SET. SHOOTING A GRAND JURY HAS INDICTED ACTOR ALEC BALDWIN ON ONE COUNT OF INVOLUNTARY MANSLAUGHTER. IF YOU RECALL, BALDWIN WAS REHEARSING SHOTS FOR THE MOVIE RUST WHEN A GUN HE WAS HOLDING FIRED. THAT GUN WAS LOADED WITH A REAL BULLET INSTEAD OF A BLANK ONE SHOOTING CINEMATOGRAPHER FOR HALYNA HUTCHINS AND DIRECTOR JOEL SOUZA. HUTCHINS DIED. BALDWIN HAS INSISTED THAT WHILE HE PULLED BACK THE HAMMER, HE DID NOT PULL THE TRIGGER. MEANTIME, THE MOVIE’S ARMORER, HANNAH GUTIERREZ-REED. SHE HAS PLEADED NOT GUILTY TO INVOLUNTARY MANSLAUGHTER AND EVIDENCE TAMPERING IN THIS CASE. HER TRIAL IS SCHEDULED TO BEGIN NEXT MONTH. RUST ASSISTANT DIRECTOR AND SAFETY COORDINATOR DAVID HALLS PLEADED NO CONTEST TO UNSAFE HANDLING OF A FIREARM LAST MARCH. HE RECEIVED A SUSPENDED SENTENCE OF SIX MONTHS OF PROBATION. NOW, REGARDING TODAY’S INDICTMENT AT ALEC BALDWIN’S DEFENSE TEAM SENT US THIS SIMPLE ONE SENTENCE STATEMENT SAYING, QUOTE, WE LOOK FORWARD TO OUR DAY IN COURT, END QUOTE, STAY WITH ACTION 7 NEWS AND KOAT DOT COM FOR BREAKING DEVELOPMENTS THROUGHOUT THIS AFTERNOON AND ON ACTION 7 NEWS STARTING AT 4:00 TO FOLLOW THE VERY LATEST OUT OF THIS DEVELOPIN
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Alec Baldwin charged with involuntary manslaughter in 'Rust' movie shooting
A grand jury indicted Alec Baldwin on Friday on an involuntary manslaughter charge in a 2021 fatal shooting during a rehearsal on a movie set in New Mexico, reviving a dormant case against the A-list actor.Special prosecutors brought the case before a grand jury in Santa Fe this week, months after receiving a new analysis of the gun that was used.Defense attorneys for Baldwin indicated they’ll fight the charges.“We look forward to our day in court," said Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro, defense attorneys for Baldwin, in an email.Baldwin, the lead actor and a co-producer on the Western movie “Rust,” was pointing a gun at cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during a rehearsal on a movie set outside Santa Fe in October 2021 when the gun went off, killing her and wounding director Joel Souza.>> Target 7 Investigation: An in-depth look at the "Rust" film set shootingBaldwin has said he pulled back the hammer, but not the trigger, and the gun fired.Judges recently agreed to put on hold several civil lawsuits seeking compensation from Baldwin and producers of “Rust” after prosecutors said they would present charges to a grand jury. Plaintiffs in those suits include members of the film crew.Special prosecutors dismissed an involuntary manslaughter charge against Baldwin in April, saying they were informed the gun might have been modified before the shooting and malfunctioned. They later pivoted and began weighing whether to refile a charge against Baldwin after receiving a new analysis of the gun.The analysis from experts in ballistics and forensic testing relied on replacement parts to reassemble the gun fired by Baldwin, after parts of the pistol were broken during testing by the FBI. The report examined the gun and markings it left on a spent cartridge to conclude that the trigger had to have been pulled or depressed.The analysis led by Lucien Haag of Forensic Science Services in Arizona stated that although Baldwin repeatedly denied pulling the trigger, “given the tests, findings and observations reported here, the trigger had to be pulled or depressed sufficiently to release the fully cocked or retracted hammer of the evidence revolver.”The weapons supervisor on the movie set, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, has pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter and evidence tampering in the case. Her trial is scheduled to begin in February.“Rust” assistant director and safety coordinator David Halls pleaded no contest to unsafe handling of a firearm last March and received a suspended sentence of six months of probation. He agreed to cooperate in the investigation of the shooting.An earlier FBI report on the agency’s analysis of the gun found that, as is common with firearms of that design, it could go off without pulling the trigger if force was applied to an uncocked hammer, such as by dropping the weapon.The only way the testers could get it to fire was by striking the gun with a mallet while the hammer was down and resting on the cartridge, or by pulling the trigger while it was fully cocked. The gun eventually broke during testing. The 2021 shooting resulted in a series of civil lawsuits, including wrongful death claims filed by members of Hutchins’ family, centered on accusations that the defendants were lax with safety standards. Baldwin and other defendants have disputed those allegations.The Rust Movie Productions company has paid a $100,000 fine to state workplace safety regulators after a scathing narrative of failures in violation of standard industry protocols, including testimony that production managers took limited or no action to address two misfires on set before the fatal shooting.The filming of “Rust” resumed last year in Montana, under an agreement with the cinematographer’s widower, Matthew Hutchins, that made him an executive producer.

A grand jury indicted Alec Baldwin on Friday on an involuntary manslaughter charge in a 2021 fatal shooting during a rehearsal on a movie set in New Mexico, reviving a dormant case against the A-list actor.

Special prosecutors brought the case before a grand jury in Santa Fe this week, months after receiving a new analysis of the gun that was used.

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Defense attorneys for Baldwin indicated they’ll fight the charges.

“We look forward to our day in court," said Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro, defense attorneys for Baldwin, in an email.

Baldwin, the lead actor and a co-producer on the Western movie “Rust,” was pointing a gun at cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during a rehearsal on a movie set outside Santa Fe in October 2021 when the gun went off, killing her and wounding director Joel Souza.

>> Target 7 Investigation: An in-depth look at the "Rust" film set shooting

Baldwin has said he pulled back the hammer, but not the trigger, and the gun fired.

Judges recently agreed to put on hold several civil lawsuits seeking compensation from Baldwin and producers of “Rust” after prosecutors said they would present charges to a grand jury. Plaintiffs in those suits include members of the film crew.

Special prosecutors dismissed an involuntary manslaughter charge against Baldwin in April, saying they were informed the gun might have been modified before the shooting and malfunctioned. They later pivoted and began weighing whether to refile a charge against Baldwin after receiving a new analysis of the gun.

The analysis from experts in ballistics and forensic testing relied on replacement parts to reassemble the gun fired by Baldwin, after parts of the pistol were broken during testing by the FBI. The report examined the gun and markings it left on a spent cartridge to conclude that the trigger had to have been pulled or depressed.

The analysis led by Lucien Haag of Forensic Science Services in Arizona stated that although Baldwin repeatedly denied pulling the trigger, “given the tests, findings and observations reported here, the trigger had to be pulled or depressed sufficiently to release the fully cocked or retracted hammer of the evidence revolver.”

The weapons supervisor on the movie set, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, has pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter and evidence tampering in the case. Her trial is scheduled to begin in February.

“Rust” assistant director and safety coordinator David Halls pleaded no contest to unsafe handling of a firearm last March and received a suspended sentence of six months of probation. He agreed to cooperate in the investigation of the shooting.

An earlier FBI report on the agency’s analysis of the gun found that, as is common with firearms of that design, it could go off without pulling the trigger if force was applied to an uncocked hammer, such as by dropping the weapon.

The only way the testers could get it to fire was by striking the gun with a mallet while the hammer was down and resting on the cartridge, or by pulling the trigger while it was fully cocked. The gun eventually broke during testing.

The 2021 shooting resulted in a series of civil lawsuits, including wrongful death claims filed by members of Hutchins’ family, centered on accusations that the defendants were lax with safety standards. Baldwin and other defendants have disputed those allegations.

The Rust Movie Productions company has paid a $100,000 fine to state workplace safety regulators after a scathing narrative of failures in violation of standard industry protocols, including testimony that production managers took limited or no action to address two misfires on set before the fatal shooting.

The filming of “Rust” resumed last year in Montana, under an agreement with the cinematographer’s widower, Matthew Hutchins, that made him an executive producer.