Stony faced Hilaria Baldwin hours after husband Alec was told he will be charged with involuntary manslaughter for fatal Rust shooting of cinematographer and could face up to five years behind bars
- Alec Baldwin was informed on Thursday that he will be charged with involuntary manslaughter for the October 2021 fatal shooting on the set of his film Rust
- His wife Hilaria, 39, was seen in New York City hours later looking stony faced, accompanied by several of their seven children
- Alec’s attorneys have vowed to contest the charges, insisting it was not his responsibility to check the bullets inside the prop gun he was handed
- He will be charged alongside the film’s armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who was in charge of the guns for the New Mexico-filmed Western
- He and Gutierrez-Reed are facing a maximum of 18 months in prison if convicted of involuntary manslaughter, and five years for firearm enhancement
Alec Baldwin’s wife Hilaria was seen on Thursday afternoon looking stony faced, hours after her husband learnt he was to be charged with involuntary manslaughter for the on-set shooting on his film Rust.
Hilaria, 39, was accompanied by several of their seven children as she arrived at their Manhattan apartment.
Alec was nowhere to be seen. His lawyers have said he plans to contest the charges, insisting he cannot be held responsible for the prop guns on set, which were the responsibility of armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed.
She will also be charged, the Santa Fe district attorney announced on Thursday morning.
Hilaria Baldwin is seen in New York City on Thursday, hours after her husband was charged with involuntary manslaughter
The 39-year-old ignored the waiting photographers as she left her home, in sparkling slippers
Hilaria, a yoga teacher, kept her head down amid the waiting photographers
She later returned to the house with several of their seven children
The Massachusetts-born wife of Alec Baldwin did her best to ignore the waiting photographers
The film’s assistant director, Dave Halls, pleaded guilty to negligence and received a six-month suspended sentence.
Hilaria, who married the Oscar-nominated actor in 2012, was spotted earlier on Thursday – before charges were announced – taking their children to school.
As she left to collect them later that afternoon, her expression had notably changed.
Mary Carmack-Altwies, the Santa Fe prosecutor, tore into him Baldwin while announcing the charges, saying ‘an actor doesn’t get free pass’ as she insisted he did pull the trigger on the gun that killed Hutchins.
Baldwin has vowed to fight the charges, calling them a ‘terrible miscarriage of justice’.
Despite prosecutors announcing the charges, it remains unclear how or why live rounds ever made it onto the set, and whether Baldwin pulled the trigger. He insists he did not – and has refuted an FBI report which claims he must have.
He and Gutierrez-Reed are facing a maximum of 18 months in prison if convicted of involuntary manslaughter.
If they are also convicted of a firearm enhancement on that charge, they will face a mandatory five-year prison sentence.
In a statement, Baldwin’s attorney said: ‘This decision distorts Halyna Hutchins’ tragic death and represents a terrible miscarriage of justice. Mr. Baldwin had no reason to believe there was a live bullet in the gun — or anywhere on the movie set.
The 39-year-old is seen on Thursday morning, before the charges were announced
She dropped the children at school and returned to the family’s Manhattan apartment
Mary Carmack-Altwies, the First Judicial District Attorney in New Mexico, said in an interview with CNN today: ‘An actor doesn’t get free pass just because they’re an actor.’ She vowed to take the case to trial
The gun fired by Baldwin on the ‘Rust’ set shooting
‘He relied on the professionals with whom he worked, who assured him the gun did not have live rounds. We will fight these charges, and we will win.’
Baldwin is seen in costume, covered with fake blood, in an image posted to Instagram
Carmack-Altwies told CNN they concluded Baldwin did pull the trigger – and that he ran a ‘fast and loose set’ that was plagued with safety issues.
‘There was such a lack of safety and safety standards on that set. There were live rounds on set, they were mixed in with dummy rounds.
‘Nobody was checking those or at least they weren’t checking them consistently.
‘They somehow got loaded into a gun, handed off to Alec Baldwin, he didn’t check it, he didn’t do what he was supposed to do to make sure he was safe or make sure anyone else was safe.
‘He pointed the gun at Halyna Hutchins and he pulled the trigger,’ she said.’
She said a ‘totality of the circumstances’ led to the decision, adding: ‘This was a really fast and loose set. And that nobody was doing their job.’
While it may have been an accident, she said Baldwin ‘doesn’t get a free pass’ because he’s a star.
Halyna Hutchins was shot dead on October 21, 2021, by actor Alec Baldwin
A devastated Baldwin is pictured bent over outside the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s office after speaking to investigators
Assistant Director Dave Halls and Armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed. He has pleaded guilty to a single charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon and she has been charged with involuntary manslaughter
‘Just because it’s an accident doesn’t mean it’s not criminal. They didn’t mean to do it, they didn’t have the intent to kill, but it happened anyway and it happened because of more than mere negligence.
‘We’ve talked to many actors, A-list and otherwise, that have said they always check their guns or they have someone check it in front of them.
‘An actor doesn’t get free pass just because they’re an actor. Everyone’s equal under the law.’
Gutierrez-Reed also vowed to fight the charges.
In a statement, her attorneys said: ‘Hannah is, and has always been, very emotional and sad about this tragic accident. But she did not commit involuntary manslaughter.
‘These charges are the result of a very flawed investigation, and an inaccurate understanding of the full facts.
‘We intend to bring the full truth to light and believe Hannah will be exonerated of wrongdoing by a jury.’
The set of Rust, at the Bonanza Creek Ranch outside of Santa Fe
An aerial view of the Bonanza Creek Ranch in Santa Fe, where the movie was being filmed
Rust cinematographer Halyna Hutchins (center) died after being shot by Baldwin during a rehearsal on October 21 in New Mexico
Baldwin spoke to George Stephanopoulos for an interview which aired on December 2, 2021
Baldwin wept as he described accidentally shooting dead his cinematographer on the set of his film Rust during an interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos
Prosecutors say they are confident with the decision. It was welcomed by Hutchin’s family, who issued a statement through their attorney.
‘We want to thank the Santa Fe Sheriff and the District Attorney for concluding their thorough investigation and determining that charges of involuntary manslaughter are warranted for the killing of Halyna Hutchins with conscious disregard for human life.
‘Our independent investigation also supports charges are warranted. It is a comfort to the family that, in New Mexico, no one is above the law.
‘We support the charges, will fully cooperate with this prosecution, and fervently hope the justice system works to protect the public and hold accountable those who break the law.’
In announcing the charges, special prosecutor Andrea Reeb said: ‘If any one of these three people—Alec Baldwin, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed or David Halls—had done their job, Halyna Hutchins would be alive today. It’s that simple.’
‘The evidence clearly shows a pattern of criminal disregard for safety on the ‘Rust’ film set.
‘In New Mexico, there is no room for film sets that don’t take our state’s commitment to gun safety and public safety seriously, ‘ she added.
Prosecutors have not formally filed the charges – they will do so by the end of the month.
‘There is a very clear process for pursuing justice in this case. We are committed to upholding the integrity of that process to ensure equal justice under the law,’ Carmack-Altwies added.
After that, the three defendants will have to make a first appearance but they will be allowed to do so virtually.
Baldwin, 64, accidentally shot and killed Halyna Hutchins on the set of the Western movie in October 2021.
In the 15 months that have passed, he emphatically denied responsibility for the accident, insisting he did not pull the trigger, despite a forensic FBI analysis of the prop gun he used concluding that he did.
Baldwin was sued by Halyna’s widower, Matthew, in 2022 but settled the lawsuit with an undisclosed sum.
He also made Matthew an executive producer on the film, which will resume production in Los Angeles.
Prosecutors have resisted criticism of the long delay in making a decision.
They say they were forced to wait for reports from both the FBI – which took ten months – and the local Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office – which took a year.
There was no press conference to announce the decision today.
Instead, the DA’s office issued a written statement to media which was also published online.
‘He’s supposed to check the guns, he’s responsible’: Panicked 911 calls from Alec Baldwin tragedy reveal how script supervisor blamed assistant director for death of cinematographer – but why did ANY of the guns have live ammo?
The audio recordings of 911 calls made by the crew of Alec Baldwin’s film Rust have revealed desperate attempts to save their colleague, and allegations of negligence.
Mamie Mitchell, the script supervisor of the film, made the call after Baldwin accidentally shot cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, 42, and director Joel Souza, 48.
The group were filming the Western film in the desert outside Santa Fe, New Mexico, when the tragedy happened on October 21.
In her call, Mitchell, a veteran script supervisor with credits dating back to 1974, points the finger at the assistant director, accusing him of negligence.
Mitchell calls 911 and tells the woman answering: ‘We need an ambulance out at Bonanza Creek Ranch right now. We have had two people accidentally shot on a movie set accidentally.’
While she is on the phone, Mitchell is instructing another person to ‘clear the road’ to allow the ambulance easy access to the site.
Mitchell is then transferred to the Santa Fe fire and EMS, and, sounding panicked, urges a swift response.
‘Bonanza Creek ranch. We have had two people accidentally shot on a movie set by a prop gun.
‘We need help immediately. Bonanza Creek ranch. Come on.’
David Halls is the Assistant Director of Rust, the Western movie Baldwin was acting in and producing when he accidentally killed Hutchins and wounded director Joel Souza
The 911 operators then asks Mitchell for her details.
Mitchell, who has worked on films including No Country For Old Men, Sicario and 3:10 to Yuma, can be heard saying: ‘It sounds like somebody else is calling for ambulances.
‘Everybody should be. We need some help.
‘Our director and our camerawoman has been shot.’
She then asks someone on set: ‘Are they going to take him to the road?’
The 911 operator asks: ‘So, was it loaded with a real bullet or what?’
Mitchell replies: ‘I don’t, I cannot tell you that. We have two injuries from a movie gunshot.’
While the phone operator is inputting the details, Mitchell can be heard telling someone else: ‘OK, this f****** AD that yelled at me at lunch asking about revisions, this motherf*****.
‘Did you see him lean over my desk and yell at me? He’s supposed to check the guns. He’s responsible for what happened.’
According to a search warrant filed in a Santa Fe court, the gun was one of three that the film’s armorer, Hannah Gutierrez, had set on a cart outside the wooden structure where a scene was being acted.
Assistant director Dave Halls grabbed the gun from the cart and brought it inside to Baldwin, unaware that it was loaded with live rounds, a detective wrote in the search warrant application.
It is not known whether Mitchell was referring Halls in the audio.
It was unclear how many rounds were fired. Gutierrez removed a shell casing from the gun after the shooting, and she turned the weapon over to police when they arrived, the court records say.
On the call, the 911 operator tries to ask Mitchell how many people were injured and, confused, Mitchell replies: ‘No, no, I’m a script supervisor.’
The operator asks again, and Mitchell says: ‘Two that I know of. I was sitting there rehearsing and it went off and I ran out. We all went out there, but doubled over the camerawoman and the director.’
She tells another person: ‘They are clearing the road, can you go back – back in the town, back in the Western camp.’
The operator asks if there is any serious bleeding, and Mitchell, flustered, hands the phone over to a man.
‘Hello?’ the man says.
‘Hi, I have a protocol of questions I need to ask. If you could answer them as best you can,’ the 911 operator says. ‘Are they completely alert?’
The man replies: ‘Yes, they are alert.’
The operator asks if the bleeding is controlled, and the man replies: ‘Let’s see if I’m allowed to get closer… No.’
It is unclear if he is saying that the bleeding is not controlled, or that he is not able to get closer.
‘We’ve got one laying down,’ he tells the operator, adding that they are near gate one and have a van ready to escort the ambulances quickly to the precise spot.
A devastated Baldwin is pictured bent over outside the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s office after speaking to investigators
A woman then calls back saying: ‘Hi, I am calling back from Bonanza Creek Ranch. We actually need two ambulances not one.’
The operator replies: ‘OK, so we’re doing a call now for somebody else and we’ll get two up to you.’
The woman, her voice showing the strain, replies: ‘OK. And that’s 10 to 15 minutes?’
‘I don’t know – we’re getting them right now, to you now,’ the operator replies.
‘What? What?’ the woman says, sounding panicked as she speaks to someone else.
‘We have two ambulances heading your way.’
‘What?’ the woman says, then returns speaking to the operator: ‘OK, thank you.’
The operator replies: ‘You’re welcome, bye.’
Mitchell later said she was standing next to Hutchins when she was shot.
‘I ran out and called 911 and said ‘Bring everybody, send everybody,’ Mitchell told The Associated Press.
‘This woman is gone at the beginning of her career. She was an extraordinary, rare, very rare woman.’
Mitchell said she and other crew members were attending a private memorial service in Santa Fe.
Baldwin described the killing as a ‘tragic accident.’
‘There are no words to convey my shock and sadness regarding the tragic accident that took the life of Halyna Hutchins, a wife, mother and deeply admired colleague of ours. I’m fully cooperating with the police investigation,’ Baldwin wrote on Twitter.
‘My heart is broken for her husband, their son, and all who knew and loved Halyna.’
No immediate charges were filed, and sheriff’s spokesman Juan Rios said Baldwin was permitted to travel.
‘He’s a free man,’ Rios said.
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