World-famous actor Alec Baldwin has finally returned to the set of his upcoming Western blockbuster, Rust, after an 18 month hiatus due to a tragedy that struck on set. As reported here at DoubleTapped at the time, Baldwin was filming a shoot out scene for the Western epic in October 2021 when he discharged a gun being used as a prop which mistakenly had live ammunition. The resulting gunfire struck and killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and caused injury to the director, Joel Souza.
This tragic fatal shooting was followed by a whirlwind of questions and inquiries. Why did the gun have live ammunition? How had the set safety procedures not prevented this? Was Baldwin culpable, either as the person who pulled the trigger or as the producer and star of the project? The resulting legal battles saw filming shut down for a year and a half while charges were filed, fought, and dropped.
Multiple members of staff from the production – including Baldwin himself – have been charged in a series of cases relating to the series of events which saw the fatal shooting occur. David Halls, an assistant director for the film, was charged with the negligent use of a deadly weapon after handing the live gun to Baldwin and verbally confirming it wasn’t live as per safety procedures. Similarly, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the armourer for the film, has been charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter and is awaiting trial, intending to plead not guilty.
Baldwin was also charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter, but these have now been dropped pending a still-active investigation into the incident. Charges of gun enhancement were also brought against both Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed, but these charges were dropped for both in February.
The enquiries and cases remain ongoing as of yet, and charges against the actor and producer could still be brought back, so Baldwin has not yet been fully vindicated for his role in the shooting. But with the filming now moving ahead, and the court dates for Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed set for May, the hope is that some concrete answers may be on the horizon for all those involved in this horrific accident.