Last Updated on September 27, 2022
Hollywood star Alec Baldwin could soon face charges stemming from the fatal shooting on the set of Rust last October. New Mexico has granted funds to pay for possible prosecutions stemming from the incident, the Santa Fe New Mexican reported Thursday.
The state Board of Finance OK’d upwards of $317,000 to cover the cost of investigating potential charges in the shooting, which took place outside of Santa Fe. Hatha Hutchins, who was working as the film’s cinematographer, was killed after Baldwin pointed a set gun at her and fired.
Judicial District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies first made an emergency request for the funds to go towards a special prosecutor, several experts and a number of other personnel who will be needed for an investigation.
As many as four people could ultimately face charges stemming from the shooting, according to a copy of the request obtained by the Santa Fe New Mexican. “One of the possible defendants is well known movie actor Alec Baldwin,” she stated.
Possible charges her office is looking at range from homicide to violations of state gun statutes. Carmack-Altwies said she is expecting to receive the final investigation report from the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office.
According to reports from the scene, Baldwin was pointing the gun at Hutchins when it went off on October 21 of last year, killing her. Director Joel Souza was also wounded in the shooting.
Alec Baldwin has claimed that the gun went off accidentally and that he did not pull the trigger. A recent FBI report casts serious doubt on Baldwin’s claim. According to the report, the gun could not have been fired unless somebody pulled the trigger.
A lawsuit filed against Baldwin alleges that the actor, “intentionally, without just cause or excuse, cocked and fired the loaded gun even though the upcoming scene did not call for the cocking and firing of a firearm.”
The lawsuit further alleges that the film’s script did not contain anything about Baldwin firing a gun in that particular scene. The shooting also did not take place during an actual scene, as cast and crew were inside a small church for scene set-up at the time.
Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the film’s armorer, has been named in several lawsuits, including a wrongful death claim filed by Hutchins’ family.
Movie sets traditionally use real firearms that are loaded with blanks. The gun that killed Hutchins contained a live round, prompting many questions surrounding the case.
