Alec Baldwin has been formally charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter following the shooting death of Halyna Hutchins, a cinematographer from the film "Rust."
Baldwin, the movie's star and producer, alongside the film's armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, received two counts of involuntary manslaughter, according to The Hill.
While rehearsing a scene in the bleak sunbleached desert of New Mexico, Baldwin fired a live round from a prop gun, striking the film's director Joel Souza and killing Hutchins. Gutierrez-Reed, according to records provided by The New York Times, was accused by prosecutors of "not checking the rounds she was loading into the firearms," "allowing live rounds on scene," and "allowing ammunition to not be secured."
Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies said, according to documents filed in the First Judicial District Court, that Baldwin handled the firearm in a "reckless" manner and failed "mitigate numerous reckless and dangerous actions during a very short time period."
As the Times notes, if the case goes to trial and jurors decide to convict "either of the defendants," they will determine "which of two definitions of involuntary manslaughter applies." If convicted of the lesser charge, it would carry a sentence of up to 18 months in prison. But if convicted for the more serious charge, which prosecutors called a "firearm enhancement," both Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed could face a mandatory minimum of five years.
Speaking to ITK on Tuesday, Baldwin's legal counsel said it would have no comment going forward, but did add that the district attorney's decision to file charges was a "terrible miscarriage of justice."
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