Prosecutors Say Alec Baldwin Missed Firearm Training for ‘Rust’ Before Deadly Shooting

Alec Baldwin stands accused of involuntary manslaughter in the passing of Rust cinematographer Halyna Hutchins with an impending conviction that could lead to imprisonment. Now, PEOPLE reports that New Mexico prosecutors are asserting that the actor neglected to complete his required firearm training before the fatal incident, which they assert was a contributing factor in Hutchins’ demise.

Robert Shilling, an officer with the district attorney’s office, crafted a probable cause filing which stated that Baldwin, “was not present for required firearms training prior to the commencement of filming.”

According to deposition evidence taken from Rust armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who is also facing involuntary manslaughter charges, the 25-year-old affirmed that Baldwin had “limited training in firearms and how to check his own firearm as to whether it was unloaded or loaded.” Additionally, per the documents, Gutierrez-Reed also stated that Baldwin attended a 30-minute training session. However, she claimed that he appeared “distracted and talking on his cell phone to his family during the training.”

On October 21, 2021, tragedy struck the set of Rust when actor Hutchins was killed by a prop gun in Baldwin’s possession. Initially, it was assumed that no live rounds were loaded into the weapon; however, director Joel Souza sustained non-fatal wounds in this incident. January 19, 2023, brought another unfortunate announcement: both Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed will face charges for involuntary manslaughter which carries with it a potential 5-year prison sentence if convicted – fortunately, no criminal proceedings have been issued regarding Souza’s shooting.

In a previous interview with ABC News’s George Stephanopoulos, Baldwin insisted he “didn’t pull the trigger” on the gun. Supporting his statement was David Halls, Assistant Director of the film. With no insight into why or how it fired a live round, both parties remain in agreement about what took place that day. In a previous statement to Good Morning America, Halls’s attorney Lisa Torraco said, “Dave has told me since the very first day I met him that Alec did not pull that trigger. His finger was never in the trigger guard.”

Just recently, news broke that the makers of Rust — including Baldwin — and Matthew Hutchins (Hutchins’ husband) had come to a settlement for his wrongful death lawsuit. As part of this agreement, production on Rust will be able to resume this year with him as one of the producers. Although there is yet no word when exactly filming on Rust will begin again, scouting locations is already underway.