What Happened on the ‘Rust’ Movie Set? A Timeline of the Shooting and Aftermath

In October 2021, cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed in an accidental shooting on the set of the movie Rust. 

The Western, first announced in May 2020, was a collaboration between star and producer Alec Baldwin and director Joel Souza. Baldwin led the film as Harland Rust, a hardened outlaw who breaks his grandson out of prison after the young teen unintentionally kills a man. Brady Noon (Boardwalk Empire) was cast as the grandson, and Supernatural star Jensen Ackles played the marshal in pursuit of the escaped prisoner. 

Hutchins, 42, was killed about two weeks into production when an antique revolver, wielded by Baldwin, accidentally fired and hit her in the chest. As far as anyone knew, the gun had no live rounds and Baldwin didn't pull the trigger, but clearly something had gone very wrong. 

Production on the film immediately stopped, and authorities began attempting to answer some difficult questions: Could Baldwin be held responsible as the person holding the weapon, or does the blame lie with the assistant director who handed him the gun and told him it wasn't loaded? And what role did young armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who wasn't present at the time, play in what happened given her responsibility for procuring and handling weapons on set?  

Meanwhile, the cast and crew were left with the impossible task of deciding how best to honor Hutchins and the work she died doing. 

Here's how it all played out, and what investigations revealed about the film's troubled New Mexico set. 

Just a few months into pandemic lockdown, Baldwin announced that Rust was in the works, with a story co-written by Souza and himself. He told The Hollywood Reporter that he hoped to begin shooting within a year. He was "elated," he said, to take on a film that was "balanced with some really stunning cinematics, hopefully." 

Filming on Rust began near Santa Fe, N.M., in early October. As we revealed during the investigation after Hutchins' death, the set was riddled with problems from the beginning. There were already concerns about weapons safety, which crew members had been vocal about. Assistant director David Halls, who was also serving as safety coordinator, had already been present for two accidental firings on October 16 that had gone unaddressed. 

The day before Hutchins' death, A-Camera first assistant Lane Luper resigned from the film with an email to producers that expressed concern with safety protocols and treatment of crew. He complained about the two accidental weapon discharges, as well as an incident in which a special effects explosive went off unexpectedly. 

He wrote that there were no safety meetings on those days, and when anyone asked about having more safety meetings, they were told there wasn't enough time or money for it during  the 21-day shoot.

Luper was not the only crew member to walk off set that day. The crew was also frustrated that hotel rooms were only provided for those who lived more than 60 miles away, or for anyone who worked 13 hours on set. They feared that producers cared more about the budget than the safety or comfort of the cast and crew, and they submitted their resignations—information that came out publicly only after Hutchins’ death. 

On the same day that many union crew members didn't show up to work, Baldwin was attending a marking rehearsal in a chapel, where Hutchins and Souza were mapping out camera angles. It was assistant director David Halls who allegedly handed Baldwin the Colt .45 revolver and said it was a "cold gun," meaning it wasn't loaded. Lead armorer (and prop assistant) Hannah Gutierrez-Reed wasn't present for this rehearsal, but Halls also served as the set's safety coordinator. 

As Baldwin later told ABC News, Hutchins was instructing him on where to point the gun so that she could position the camera for the best shot. She had him point it in the direction of her armpit, and he swore he never pulled the trigger. He was supposed to cock the gun but not fire it, and the moment he took his hand off the hammer of the gun, "The gun goes off," he said. Baldwin was told of Hutchins' death at the sheriff's office later that day. 

Souza was also injured in the shooting, and was treated for a shoulder wound. 

Gaffer Serge Svetnoy filed the first of many lawsuits related to the case. He accused Baldwin and the production of general negligence, and several months later, he added assault and intentional infliction of emotional distress to the claim.

Svetnoy was present during the accident, narrowly missing getting hit with the bullet. Svetnoy said that he held Hutchins' head as she died. 

Script supervisor Mamie Mitchell filed her own civil suit. She alleged that producers intentionally ignored safety protocols and purposely put her through distress, as she was only about 4 feet away from where the bullet hit. 

Baldwin gave his first interview since the shooting in a sitdown with ABC News. He was adamant that he was following Hutchins' instructions to point the gun at her and at the camera, and that he didn't pull the trigger. 

He also sang Hutchins' praises. 

“I loved working with this woman,” Baldwin said. “She was a joy. Everyone loved her as a person. And everyone admired her talent.”

He stated that her death was so distressing to him that he would "emotionally collapse" at the end of every day. 

"I couldn't give a s--- about my career anymore," he said. 

The 24 year-old armorer—the stepdaughter of Hollywood armorer and stuntman Thell Reed—filed a lawsuit against Seth Kenney and his company, PDQ Arm and Prop, for not making it clear that the ammunition boxes contained both live and dummy ammunition.

Set medic Cherlyn Shaefer, who was called to the scene when Hutchins was shot, sued the production for negligence and named Halls, Gutierrez-Reed, Kenney and prop master Sarah Zachary. She claimed she suffered tremendous shock, trauma and severe emotional distress as a result of the accident. She later settled in May 2023 for $1.15 million. 

After an investigation concluded that safety protocols were not properly followed on set, Hutchins' family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Baldwin and the production team, alleging reckless behavior and cost-cutting. 

New Mexico's Occupational Health and Safety Bureau issued the production the highest possible citation and penalty that the state allowed, with a fine of more than $136,000. They also released a report that called Hutchins' death "avoidable." 

"Management was provided with multiple opportunities to take corrective actions and chose not to do so," it said. 

The fine was eventually reduced to $100,000. 

According to a forensic report from the FBI, the gun could not have gone off without the trigger being pulled .

Hutchins' family announced that they had reached a settlement in their wrongful death lawsuit. The amount was not disclosed, but as part of the settlement, the movie would continue filming with Hutchins' husband Matthew Hutchins as executive producer. 

"All of us believe Halyna's death was a terrible accident," Matthew said in a statement. "I am grateful that the producers and the entertainment community have come together to pay tribute to Halyna's final work."

Baldwin filed his own lawsuit accusing multiple crew members of negligence, including Halls, Gutierrez-Reed, Kenney and Zachary. 

Santa Fe prosecutors announced that Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed would each be charged with involuntary manslaughter for Hutchins' death. 

Halls was charged with and pleaded no contest to negligent use of a deadly weapon. 

Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed were each charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter. 

It was noted that Baldwin's interviews about the shooting had been "inconsistent," and the filing also accused Baldwin of knowingly allowing Gutierrez-Reed to work as the armorer, despite having no formal training or certification. 

Baldwin's legal team requested that special prosecutor Andrea Reeb step down because as a member of the New Mexico House of Representatives, she could not exercise both legislative and judicial power. 

Reeb did eventually step down on March 14, 2023, saying she did not want to "cloud the real issue at hand." 

Baldwin's team also succeeded in getting charges reduced by pointing out a gun enhancement law that didn't go into effect until after the shooting took place. 

While Matthew Hutchins' lawsuit ended in a settlement, Hutchins' parents and sister (who live in Ukraine) hired famed attorney Gloria Allred to help them sue Baldwin, the other Rust producers and some crew members for negligence, battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress and loss of consortium. 

Baldwin pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter and was allowed to return to the set of Rust with some conditions, including not discussing the case with witnesses and interacting with them only in connection with filming the movie. 

As part of his plea deal, Halls was sentenced to six months of unsupervised probation. 

As production prepared to begin again on Rust, prosecutors announced that the charges against Baldwin were dismissed—for now. The decision was made after new evidence on the gun had surfaced, and Baldwin was warned that the charges could be refiled. 

Filming resumed, though production moved from New Mexico to the Yellowstone Film Ranch in Montana. The principal cast initially returned, though Ackles and Noon soon dropped out due to scheduling issues. Patrick Scott McDermott stepped in to play the grandson while Josh Hopkins replaced Ackles, joining other original cast members Frances Fisher and Travis Fimmel. Baldwin returned to the set day after the charges against him were dropped. 

A spokesperson for the movie said that working weapons and live ammunition were barred from the set.  

Prosecutors accused the armorer of transferring cocaine to someone else after her police interview post-shooting, and she pleaded not guilty to all charges. 

It was reported that other crew members had been concerned about Gutierrez-Reed's drug and alcohol use during filming, and a text between Zachary and Kenney brought up concerns that the armorer had been "so drunk" that she didn't realize she brought live ammo on set. 

The same prosecutors who dismissed his charges in April 2023 charged Baldwin again with one count of involuntary manslaughter. 

A jury deliberated for around three hours before declaring Gutierrez-Reed guilty of involuntary manslaughter, but not guilty of evidence tampering. 

Gutierrez-Reed was sentenced to 18 months in prison and was called out for a lack of emotion or regret. 

"Your attorney had to tell the court you were remorseful," the judge said, per NBC News. "You were the armorer who stood between a safe weapon and a weapon that could kill someone. [But] for you, she would be alive."

The trial opened with prosecutors explaining how Baldwin had behaved in a "reckless manner" with firearms on set and had put others in danger. The defense focused on the fact that Baldwin clearly had no knowledge of a live bullet being brought onto the set, and as an actor, he had no reason to assume there would ever be a live bullet in a prop gun. 

Three days into the trial, Judge Marlowe Sommer suddenly announced she was granting the defense's motion to dismiss the charges. 

The motion was filed because it was discovered that local law enforcement had concealed evidence—live ammunition related to the shooting—from the defense, and Sommer agreed, saying there was "no way for the court to right this wrong." The charges were dismissed with prejudice, meaning they cannot be refiled. 

Reviews were mixed to negative, with the film earning a 56% on Rotten Tomatoes. The consensus was that it was a fairly average Western with great cinematography that was completely overshadowed by the tragedy on set. 

While a judge threw out Svetnoy's claim of assault, the case was allowed to continue, with a trial date set for October 12, 2026. 

After being charged with involuntary manslaughter twice, Baldwin sued the New Mexico prosecutors, alleging that they intentionally concealed evidence that would have exonerated him and were using him for political gain. While Judge Kea Riggs agreed that there was a "very disturbing picture of malicious prosecution" in this case, she ruled that prosecutors must be entitled to immunity, which meant they were protected from a portion of Baldwin's claims. 

“Sometimes, it is better to leave unredressed the wrongs done by an allegedly dishonest prosecutor than to subject those who try to do their duty to the constant dread of retaliation,” she wrote. “This is one of those times.”

However, Special Prosecutor Kari Morrissey is still potentially liable for claims that address her statements to the media and categorizing of evidence, and the case remains open.