Is Alec Baldwin about to be charged for his role in the 2021 shooting death that occurred on the set of ‘Rust’ in New Mexico? A week ago, most would have said there’s no chance and that Baldwin was in the clear, but the District Attorney handling the case, Mary Carmack-Altwies, appears to have other ideas.
According to CBS News, Baldwin and three others could be charged in the near future.
A district attorney in New Mexico said she could be close to charging up to four people, including actor Alec Baldwin, in the “Rust” film set shooting that occurred in Santa Fe on Oct. 21, 2021. During the shooting, Baldwin’s prop gun was discharged, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza.
First Judicial District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies made an emergency funding request for $635,500 to continue to fund the investigation of the high-profile case.
“We are within weeks, if not days, of receiving the final report from the sheriff’s office,” Carmack-Altwies said during a New Mexico Board of Finance meeting on Sept. 20. She said while they are still awaiting reports “it’s become apparent that we will be potentially charging between one and four people with criminal charges and each of those charges will probably include some variation of our homicide statute.”
The request for funding isn’t unusual given the high-profile nature of this case. There’s a lot of forensic work that has to be done to provide the evidence necessary to support charges, assuming that evidence exists, and this is a very complicated case. This specific district attorney is also in a rural area and doesn’t have much staff or resources. It’s probable the state will chip in.
A report from the local sheriff’s office is set to be delivered in October and will be the basis for any further investigation. With Carmack-Altwies going public with the possibility of charges, though, it wouldn’t surprise me if she’s already gotten some information about what it will contain. Previous forensics showed that the gun that Baldwin had could not have been fired without pulling the trigger, though Baldwin insists he never did.
For his part, the D-list actor has remained defiant and active in his public life, seeming to have moved past what happened, or at least wanting to put up that front. It would be quite the turnaround if he ended up getting charged over this. Still, I would be curious to know what charges are being entertained. I doubt seriously there is any accusation that Baldwin shot the victim on purpose. Perhaps something to do with negligence with a firearm?
We’ll find out one way or the other soon enough.