“Rust” shooting aftermath: Baldwin charged with involuntary manslaughter

It is sometimes said that a single day has the potential to change your whole life – and in Alec Baldwin’s case, Oct. 21, 2021, was one that compromised his career in its entirety. On this tragic autumn day, Baldwin, a renowned actor, comedian and producer who has been on the cinematic scene for over 30 years, accidentally fired a prop gun on the “Rust” movie set, killing cinematographer Haya Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza. On Jan. 26, Baldwin was charged with involuntary manslaughter by New Mexico prosecutors for his involvement in the fatal shooting, which raises the question of the amount of responsibility he bears for the gun being loaded. 

For months after in the public eye, Baldwin completely denied the idea that he was to blame. Specifically, in an interview with CNN, he named assistant director Dave Halls and armorer and props manager Hannah Gutierrez-Reed as the individuals who made the mistakes that led to this catastrophe occurring. He explicitly emphasized how these two crew members were poorly executing their jobs on set, and how he was completely void of fault. 

“‘I’m not sitting there saying I want them to, you know, go to prison, or I want their lives to be hell,’” Baldwin said. “I don’t want that. But I want everybody to know that those are the two people that are responsible for what happened.’” 

But there is one key detail that does not exactly align with Baldwin’s argument. it was reported that he was not present for firearms training prior to filming began. According to prosecutors, he was distracted and talking on the phone throughout his designated time for training, and only used a half hour of his hour-long session. 

According to court documents, “Statements and evidence show BALDWIN was not present for required firearms training prior to the commencement of filming. Statements, depositions from OSHA, and evidence show BALDWIN was provided only minimal training on firearms.” 

It is evident that Baldwin did not have the intention for the prop gun to be loaded and ready to fire, but there were certainly preventative measures he could have taken beforehand, and precautions enacted to ensure a situation like this would not occur. Baldwin is set to appear in court on Feb. 24 for his hearing.