Alec Baldwin faced accusations of losing control of his emotions on the set of the movie “Rust” in New Mexico in 2021, according to court documents filed by prosecutors. The fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins led to Baldwin being indicted on a charge of manslaughter, to which he pleaded not guilty. The prosecutors claimed that Baldwin frequently screamed and cursed at himself and crew members, displaying a lack of control and concern for those around him.
In response to Baldwin’s team’s request to dismiss the charge due to concerns about unfair testimony, prosecutors filed a court document accusing Baldwin of hiring an inexperienced armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, to handle all the film’s guns. Despite other crew members noticing her lack of experience, Baldwin, as the most experienced member of the cast and crew, failed to recognize her limitations. Prosecutors alleged that Baldwin missed initial firearms training and had an inattentive training session where he spent time on the phone or making videos with guns.
According to the court filing, on the day of the shooting, the cast was preparing for a scene in which Baldwin was supposed to slowly pull his gun from its holster, not fire it. However, prosecutors claimed that Baldwin went against director Joel Souza’s instructions. Baldwin has denied pulling the trigger before the gun fired, stating that the firearm was declared “cold” by the assistant director. The court filing pointed out contradictions in Baldwin’s statements to law enforcement and the media regarding whether he pulled the trigger and followed direction from Gutierrez-Reed or Souza.
Both parties in the case raised issues with information shared with NBC News, and Gutierrez-Reed was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter but cleared of tampering with evidence at a trial in March. She faces up to 18 months in state prison and is set to be sentenced soon. The court documents highlighted Baldwin’s alleged lack of control on set and changing narratives in the aftermath of the shooting, painting a picture of a man who showed no concern for those around him and failed to recognize the incompetence of his hired crew member. The legal proceedings continue as more details emerge about the events leading up to the tragic incident on the set of “Rust”.
