Prosecutors say Alec Baldwin was ‘engaged in horseplay’ with gun before fatal shooting | Rust film set shooting
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Less than three weeks before the actor Alec Baldwin is due to stand trial in Santa Fe, New Mexico, prosecutors said he had been “playing with the revolver,” including firing a blank cartridge at a crew member on the set of Rust, before the tragic incident occurred.
Baldwin faces manslaughter charges in the 2021 shooting death of cinematographer Halina Hutchins.
In new court documents, Prosecutors said they plan to present new evidence to support their case that the 66-year-old actor and producer was reckless with firearms while filming on set and exhibited “erratic and aggressive behavior during filming” that creates potential safety concerns.
Prosecutors in the case, which is due to go to court on July 10, previously argued that to watch Baldwin’s behavior on the set of Rust “was to witness a man who has absolutely no control over his own emotions and absolutely no concern for how his behavior affects those around him”.
In the latest filing, special prosecutors Carrie Morrissey and Erlinda Johnson allege that Baldwin aimed his gun and fired “a blank cartridge at a crew member, using that crew member as a line of sight as his intended target.”
Prosecutors also allege that after asking for the “largest” gun available, the actor used the reference weapon “as an index finger directing crew members”; fired it after “cut” was called on stage; puts his finger on the shutter release in scenes that don’t require shooting; they rushed the gunsmith of the film to reload faster; and was “inattentive during firearms training” and “distracted by texting/meeting family members and making videos for his family’s enjoyment.”
Minutes before the 911 call reported the shooting of Hutchins and filmmaker Joel Souza, Baldwin was photographed handling his gun and “appeared to have his finger on the trigger guard and his thumb on the hammer.”
They also allege that when Rust resumed filing in Montana the following year, Baldwin “insisted that he not be required to follow safety recommendations made by set safety experts.”
Baldwin pleaded not guilty to manslaughter charges in the death of Hutchins during a rehearsal on the set when he pointed a revolver at her. The gun fired, killing Hutchins and wounding Souza. He faces up to a year and a half in prison if convicted.
In April, Rust’s gunman, Hannah Gutierrez-Reid, 26, was sentenced to 18 months in prison after pleading guilty to the same charges Baldwin faced. The actor has repeatedly tried to deny the allegations and has previously refused to plead guilty.
Separate from Baldwin’s criminal prosecution, the Hutchins family recently renewed their negligence lawsuit against Baldwin and other producers and crew, alleging that Hutchins’ death was caused by reckless conduct.
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“The fact that live ammunition was allowed on set, that guns and ammunition were left unattended … and that defendant Baldwin inexplicably pointed and fired a gun at Halina Hutchins makes this a case where the injury or death is much more from mere possibility – it was a likely outcome,” the suit says.
Baldwin recently announced that he and his wife, Hilaria Baldwin, along with their seven children, all under the age of 10, will star in their own reality TV show about their family, which will air next year.
The decision to make the announcement so soon before the Santa Fe trial was criticized as a stunt by celebrity attorney Gloria Allred.
“This seems to me like a calculated and cynical public relations ploy to try to influence New Mexico jurors to think of him as a likable family man rather than the killer of Halina Hutchins.” Allred told celebrity news site TMZ.
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