United States: Actor Alec Baldwin charged with murder during filming

(Reuters) – US actor Alec Baldwin and gunsmith Hannah Gutierrez-Reid were charged on Tuesday with the 2021 murder of cinematographer Halina Hutchins on the set of the movie ‘Rust’, a carrier said. Word from the New Mexico state prosecutor’s office where the film was being shot.

It’s an expected announcement, as earlier this month prosecutor Mary Carmack-Altwiss expressed her intention to issue an indictment after months of an investigation focused on Alec Baldwin’s behavior.

The actor has been accused of flouting safety rules when a gun he was rehearsing for a scene in the film fired a live bullet that fatally hit Halina Hutchins.

Alec Baldwin denied any responsibility, claiming that he never pulled the trigger on the gun and that it was up to the team of gunners on set to ensure that the gun was not loaded.

Hannah Gutierrez-Reid said she verified that the bullets in the gun were fake, before giving the weapon to an assistant director, who then gave it to Alec Baldwin.

(Reporting by Andrew Hay; French edition by Jean Terzien)