Alec Baldwin and three other people might face charges soon in connection with last year’s fatal shooting on the set of the film Rust, according to a New Mexico official, who said charges could come “within weeks, if not days.”
Several recent steps by District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies indicated that she may be seeking to charge the actor in connection with the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of his film “Rust.”
Carmack-Altwies submitted an emergency request with the New Mexico Board of Finance last week, requesting $635,000 to assist “up to four prospective criminal charges” that she said might develop from the continuing investigation into the incident.
The state board granted her half of the sought sum, $317,000, to help support a special prosecutor, special investigator, experts, and others. The prosecutor stated that up to four persons might face criminal charges, while she also stated that they might not all be held criminally guilty. “We will be requesting a special appropriation for the rest of the money,” she added.
“One of the possible defendants is well known movie actor Alec Baldwin,” Carmack-Altwies said. She did not name any other members of the cast or crew who may still be under investigation, but she did list a number of possible charges, saying that her office was “certainly looking at all the homicide statutes and any gun statutes under New Mexico criminal code.”
Carmack-Altwies indicated that the money would support up to four different jury trials related to the incident that murdered Hutchins and injured director Joel Souza.
The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office expects to deliver a detailed report based on the protracted investigation in the coming weeks.
The prosecutor did not specify whether she planned to seek criminal charges, but she wanted the financing in place before the report was released in case prosecutions were considered necessary.
“Experts in firearms, the handling of firearms on movie sets, and safety protocols on move sets must be retained immediately,” Carmack-Altwies explained in the request. “If the First Judicial District Attorney … were to take funding for the ‘RUST’ prosecution out of the general fund, there would not be enough funding to pay our employees, expert witnesses needed for other cases and general everyday expenses of the office.”
In late 2021, Baldwin fired the pistol that murdered cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the Rust set. The actor has consistently stated that he did not fire the gun. However, according to an FBI assessment, the pistol used in the incident could not have been discharged without pulling the trigger.