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Full coverage: The fatal shooting of Halyna Hutchins on the ‘Rust’ set

Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins stands next to a film camera in a dark room while a man looks on.
Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was on the cusp of reaching a new level of recognition in a male-dominated field.
(Jack Caswell / Adam Egypt Mortimer)
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Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, 42, was killed in an incident involving a prop gun being handled by actor and producer Alec Baldwin on the New Mexico set of the film “Rust” in October 2021.

Hutchins, who worked on indie features like “Archenemy,” “Blindfire” and “The Mad Hatter,” had been selected as one of American Cinematographer’s Rising Stars of 2019.

The film’s director Joel Souza was injured in the incident.

In January 2023, New Mexico charged Baldwin with two counts of involuntary manslaughter in Hutchins’ death. In April 2023, the criminal charges against Baldwin were dropped. Baldwin was charged with involuntary manslaughter again in January 2024.

In May, Baldwin’s attorney argued before a New Mexico judge that the involuntary manslaughter charges against the actor should be dismissed. A judge denied the motion to dismiss the charges.

Baldwin’s manslaughter trial began in early July. The jury panel was selected July 9. On the first day of the trial, Baldwin’s attorney suggested that sheriff’s deputies and prosecutors turned their attention on the actor.

The case against Baldwin was dismissed on July 12 after the actor’s defense attorneys raised new questions over how New Mexico law enforcement officers and prosecutors handled evidence.

Prosecutors also filed involuntary manslaughter charges against armorer Hannah Gutierrez, who loaded the gun. Assistant director David Halls accepted a misdemeanor charge in a plea deal.

A New Mexico jury found Gutierrez guilty of involuntary manslaughter after a trial that ended in March 2024.

Follow our coverage here for developing details.

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