‘Rust’ Shooting Investigation Receives Update on Possible Charges Against Alec Baldwin

There has been an update on the shooting investigation from the set of Rust, and it includes details on possible charges against actor Alec Baldwin. It’s been almost 10 months since the fatal shooting, and Deadline reports that the police investigation is getting close to being complete. However, it is not closed just yet, but is still ongoing. 

In a new update, Santa Fe Country Sheriff’s Investigators have confirmed that they have received a completed forensic report from the FBI. That report was in turn sent to the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator for further review. A release statement from the Sheriff’s Office read, “The OMI had advised the Sheriff’s Office that they required these forensic reports to finalize their investigation.” In a separate update, the Santa Fe County Sheriffs, the Suffolk County Police Department, and First Judicial District Attorney’s Office are all working together in order to acquire, process and disclose Baldwin’s phone records. Once Sheriff’s officials are able to review Baldwin’s phone records and the OMI files, they will “send the final Rust case file to the Santa Fe District Attorney’s office for final charging decisions.”

“The District Attorney’s office has been working with Suffolk County PD and Baldwin’s lawyer to acquire the phone records. Once Suffolk County PD completes its agency assist and sends those records to New Mexico law enforcement, our detectives will need to then thoroughly review those phone records for evidentiary purposes,” Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said in a statement. Notably, Deadline reported that the Santa Fe District Attorney’s did not “respond for a request for comment on the state of the probe.”

Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed on the set of Rust on Oct. 21, 2021, after a prop gun that Baldwin was holding discharged. The gun was initially not believed to be loaded with live rounds. During an interview with ABC News host George Stephanopoulos, Baldwin claimed that he “didn’t pull the trigger” on the gun, stating that he has no idea why or how it fired a live round. This claim has been backed up by the film’s Assistant Director, David Halls. 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.”

It was later announced that Baldwin is being sued by Hutchins’ family over the Rust set shooting which claimed her life. According to TMZ, lawyers for Hutchins’ husband and son filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Baldwin and others from the film’s crew claiming Baldwin intentionally pulled the gun from its holster and pointed it in Hutchins’ direction. “He released the revolver’s hammer, and — BAM — defendant Baldwin fired the revolver,” the suit reads. In addition to Baldwin, other defendants in the suit include Rust armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed and assistant director, David Halls. The suit also names multiple production companies, as well as the company that provided the ammunition.