SANTA FE, N.M. (NewsNation) — The fatal 2021 shooting of “Rust” cinematographer Halyna Hutchins sent shockwaves through Hollywood, raising questions about gun safety on sets and whether or not the involved should be held accountable for her death.
In October 2021, actor Alec Baldwin was rehearsing a scene that involved drawing a weapon and pointing it toward the camera when a single round went through Hutchins, fatally wounding her. Director Joel Souza was injured in the shoulder.
Baldwin said the gun discharged when he took it out of the holster and denied firing it, while an FBI report stated it could only have fired if the trigger had been pulled.
Now, as jury selection begins in the trial of “Rust” armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, here’s a timeline of events, retracing key moments throughout the case.
‘Rust’ production announced
Oct. 6, 2021: The New Mexico Film Office announced the feature film was in production and that filming would take place in October and November 2021. Disputes in the production of the Western began almost from the start, with crew members walking off set amid discord over working conditions, including safety procedures and a long commute back to their hotels.
The production, now behind schedule, rushed along.
Shooting on ‘Rust’ movie set
Oct. 21, 2021: A new production crew was hired on the morning of Oct. 21, 2021, but filming was slow because they were down to one camera, the film’s director, Souza, told detectives.
“Rust” safety coordinator and assistant director David Dave Halls allegedly unwittingly handed Baldwin a loaded weapon.
According to a search warrant affidavit, Halls called out “cold gun” to indicate that it was safe to use but told detectives he did not check all of the weapon’s chambers.
Souza peered over the shoulder of Hutchins to look at what the camera was capturing. He then heard what sounded like a whip followed by a loud pop, he would later tell investigators.
Suddenly, Hutchins was complaining about her stomach, grabbing her midsection and stumbling backward, saying she couldn’t feel her legs.
Souza saw that she was bloodied and that he was bleeding too. The lead from Baldwin’s gun had pierced Hutchins and embedded in his shoulder.
A medic began trying to save Hutchins as people streamed out of the building and called 911. An anonymous staffer said a gun in the hands of a stuntman misfired on set. There was no ambulance on set.
“We were rehearsing, and it went off, and I ran out, we all ran out,” said Mamie Mitchell, the “Rust” script supervisor. “They were doubled over, the AD and the camerawoman and the director.”
Hutchins’ longtime friend and the gaffer on “Rust,” Serge Svetnoy, described the moment in a Facebook post.
“I was holding her in my arms while she was dying,” Svetnoy wrote. “Her blood was on my hands.”
Responders flew Hutchins in a helicopter to a hospital to no avail.
An emotionally distraught Baldwin is seen crying, with his hands on his knees, outside the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office. The next day he expressed “shock and sadness” in a statement via Twitter.
‘Rust’ movie shooting investigation begins
Oct. 25, 2021: Production for the feature film is officially shut down until the police investigation is completed.
Oct. 27, 2021: During a news conference, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said there was “some complacency” in how weapons were handled on the set. Investigators found 500 rounds of ammunition — a mix of blanks, dummy rounds and what appeared to be live rounds — even though the set’s firearms specialist, armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, said there should never have been real ammo present.
“It’s the fault of negligence and unprofessionalism,” Svetnoy said. “The negligence from the person who was supposed to check the weapon on the site did not do this; the person who had to announce that the loaded gun was on the site did not do this; the person who should have checked this weapon before bringing it to the set did not do it.”
First ‘Rust’ lawsuit filed
Nov. 17, 2021: “Rust” script supervisor Mamie Mitchell, who witnessed the shooting, filed the first suit against Baldwin.
According to her attorney, Mitchell was haunted and too traumatized to return to work after 40 years in show business. Her lawsuit says Baldwin went off script when he accidentally shot and killed Hutchins.
As the script supervisor, Mitchell was standing near Hutchins when the shooting happened.
“I will never forget what happened on the set of ‘Rust’ that day,” Mitchell said. “I relive the shooting and sound of the explosion from the gun over and over again. I am depressed. I don’t feel safe. I feel that at any moment anything can happen to me.”
Mitchell called 911 after the shooting.
Attorney Gloria Allred filed suit on her behalf to seek compensatory and punitive damages. According to the suit, Baldwin was supposed to be armed, but he wasn’t supposed to open fire.
Alec Baldwin speaks out about ‘Rust’ in first interview
Dec. 2, 2021: Baldwin conducts his first public interview since the fatal on-set shooting with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos. In the interview, Baldwin says he never pulled the trigger.
“I would never point a gun at anyone and pull a trigger at them. Never. Never,” Baldwin said. “That was the training that I had.”
More ‘Rust’ lawsuits filed
Jan. 12, 2022: Gutierrez-Reed, who is at the center of the “Rust” shooting investigation, sues the suppliers of the ammunition for the Western film. She filed a lawsuit in New Mexico against Seth Kenney’s company, PDQ Arm and Prop, LLC.
The lawsuit claims the incident was the fault of Kenney’s company and that he supplied the set with both live and dummy rounds prior to the shooting.
In the complaint, Gutierrez-Reed paints the picture of a chaotic, rushed atmosphere on the set that gave rise to the possibility of a tragedy.
Feb. 15, 2022: Hutchins’ family sues Baldwin and the movie’s producers, alleging their “callous” disregard in the face of safety complaints led directly to her death.
At a news conference announcing the lawsuit, attorneys for the husband and son of Halyna Hutchins said that Baldwin refused training for the type of “cross-draw” he was performing when he fired the shot that killed her.
New Mexico fines ‘Rust’ production company
April 20, 2022: New Mexico workplace safety regulators issue the maximum possible fine of nearly $137,000 against the film production company for firearms safety failures on the set of “Rust.”
New Mexico’s Occupational Health and Safety Bureau said Rust Movie Productions must pay $136,793 and distributed a scathing narrative of safety failures in violation of standard industry protocols, including testimony that production managers took limited or no action to address two misfires on set prior to the fatal shooting.
The bureau also documented gun safety complaints from crew members that went unheeded and said weapons specialists were not allowed to make decisions about additional safety training.
Medical investigator rules ‘Rust’ shooting an accident
Aug. 15, 2022: The fatal shooting was ruled an accident, according to a determination made by New Mexico’s Office of the Medical Investigator following the completion of an autopsy and a review of law enforcement reports.
The medical investigator’s report was made public by the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office along with numerous reports from the FBI on the revolver and ammunition that were collected after the shooting.
The FBI forensic report shows that the .45-caliber revolver used in the fatal shooting on the “Rust” movie set could not have been fired without pulling the trigger.
Halyna Hutchins’ family settlement reached
Oct. 5, 2022: Hutchins’ family and Baldwin reach a settlement in the wrongful death lawsuit filed against the actor and others.
As part of the settlement, the cinematographer’s husband, Matthew Hutchins, will take on an executive producer role for the film.
Baldwin’s attorney also provided a statement, stating that everyone involved has “maintained the specific desire to do what is best for Halyna’s son.”
Alec Baldwin sues Hannah Gutierrez-Reed
Nov. 11, 2022: Baldwin files a lawsuit against Gutierrez-Reed and other crew members. He alleges Gutierrez-Reed and Halls acted negligently by handing him the loaded gun that killed Hutchins and announcing it was safe.
Also named in the suit is Sarah Zachry, who Baldwin alleges “failed to disclose that Gutierrez-Reed had been acting recklessly off-set.”
Baldwin, Gutierrez-Reed charged
Jan. 19, 2023: New Mexico prosecutors announce they will pursue criminal charges against Baldwin and others in connection to the fatal “Rust” shooting.
Halls agrees to plead guilty to a charge of the negligent use of a deadly weapon, the statement said.
The statement said there would be no charges for the nonfatal shooting of Souza.
Jan. 31, 2023: Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed are formally charged with involuntary manslaughter in Hutchins’ death. The statement indicated that the shooting took place after the crew and actors were preparing for a scene. It was not an established rehearsal, and the crew had yet to start filming.
Effort to remove special prosecutor
Feb. 7, 2023: Baldwin’s legal team seeks to disqualify special prosecutor and Republican state Rep. Andrea Reeb based on constitutional provisions that safeguard the separation of powers between distinct branches of government.
Hutchins’ parents, sister file lawsuit
Feb. 9, 2023: Hutchins’ relatives seek damages in her death from Baldwin. The new lawsuit against Baldwin was filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court on behalf of Hutchins’ parents and younger sister.
Special prosecutor, DA step down
March 15, 2023: Reeb steps down from her role in the manslaughter case against Baldwin.
March 29, 2023: District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies also stepped away from Baldwin’s case after a New Mexico judge said Santa Fe’s DA shouldn’t serve as co-counsel. Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer said Carmack-Altwies should either lead the case on her own or turn it over entirely to another prosecutor.
She appointed two veteran New Mexico lawyers — Kari Morrissey and Jason Lewis — to serve as the new special prosecutors.
Halls sentenced
March 31, 2023: Halls was convicted of unsafe handling of a firearm and sentenced to six months of probation. He also has to pay a $500 fine, complete a gun safety course and 24 hours of community service.
Under the plea agreement, Halls agreed to testify truthfully at any upcoming hearings or trials. That includes criminal proceedings against Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed.
Baldwin charges dropped, Rust filming continues
April 20, 2023: All charges against actor Alec Baldwin were dropped in connection with the shooting.
The filming of “Rust” resumes in Montana under an agreement with the cinematographer’s widower, Matthew Hutchins, that makes him an executive producer. Souza says he returned to directing “Rust” to honor the legacy of Halyna Hutchins.
Gutierrez-Reed pleads not guilty
June 22, 2023: Gutierrez-Reed was charged with evidence tampering in addition to her involuntary manslaughter charge.
According to a new court filing, Gutierrez-Reed allegedly passed drugs to someone else on the day of the shooting, intending to prevent her own apprehension, prosecution or conviction.
Special prosecutors appointed in the case gave no further details in a Santa Fe County court filing.
Gutierrez-Reed’s lawyer, Jason Bowles, called the charge retaliatory.
Aug. 4, 2023: Gutierrez-Reed forwent a preliminary hearing that would have provided court testimony from dozens of people, including eyewitnesses to the shooting, waived her right to a courtroom review of evidence and waived her right to a review of charges by a grand jury.
Aug. 9, 2023: Gutierrez-Reed pleads not guilty to involuntary manslaughter and tampering with evidence, New Mexico court officials said. She waived her right to an arraignment on the charges.
A defense attorney for Gutierrez-Reed has characterized it as a tragic accident and says the weapons specialist committed no crime. Prosecutors allege Gutierrez-Reed was negligent in the handling of firearms and ammunition on the set.
Baldwin indicted, pleads not guilty
Oct. 17, 2023: Prosecutors present evidence to a grand jury against Baldwin in Hutchins’ fatal shooting. Although these charges were dismissed back in April, prosecutors pivoted after receiving a new analysis of the gun and asked a grand jury to consider recharging Baldwin.
Jan. 19, 2024: Prosecutors in New Mexico indict Alec Baldwin for involuntary manslaughter in connection with a shooting on the set of his movie “Rust.”
Jan. 31, 2024: Baldwin pleads not guilty to the involuntary manslaughter charge. He entered the plea in a document filed and waived his right to an arraignment hearing, New Mexico court records show.
Gutierrez-Reed’s trial starts
Feb. 21, 2024: Jury selection began for Gutierrez-Reed, who faces charges of involuntary manslaughter and tampering with evidence in Hutchins’ death.
This trial marks one of the most significant legal proceedings in Hollywood’s extensive film industry.
Gutierrez-Reed has pleaded not guilty to the charges and maintains she’s not directly to blame for Hutchins’ death.
Gutierrez-Reed faces up to 18 months in prison and a $5,000 fine if convicted of involuntary manslaughter. The evidence tampering charge stems from accusations she handed a small bag of possible narcotics to another crew member after the shooting to avoid detection by law enforcement.
Feb. 22, 2024: Opening statements start in the Gutierrez-Reed trial.
Prosecutors allege she was using drugs and drinking during production, while Gutierrez-Reed claims she is a victim of sabotage and that disgruntled cast and crew members likely put the live ammo on set to get her fired.
Feb. 23, 2024: Day two of Gutierrez-Reed trial: Bullet evidence, as well as text messages, were shown in court during the second day of the trial.
Crime scene technician Marissa Poppell, who photographed and analyzed evidence found on the “Rust” movie set, was the first witness. Jurors were shown photos, including live and “dummy” bullets, as well as ammunition boxes. Somehow, six live rounds made their way on the “Rust” set.
For the first time during the trial, evidence of reported drug use was shown via text messages extracted from Gutierrez-Reed’s phone via a search warrant.
The texts were between Gutierrez-Reed and an unidentified person from Oct. 20, 2021, the night before the shooting.
Feb. 26, 2024: A New Mexico judge sets a trial date for Baldwin, calling for jury selection to begin July 9, with the trial starting the following day with opening statements by special prosecutors and Baldwin’s defense attorneys. The proceedings are expected to last eight days.
Day three of Gutierrez-Reed trial: Testimony turned emotional and argumentative as an eyewitness recounted the shooting.
Monday’s testimony veered into the actor’s handling of the revolver that killed Hutchins — including a video of Baldwin twice practicing a cross-draw maneuver for a camera on Oct. 21, 2021, shortly before the fatal shooting that day. Investigators found no video of the shooting.
Feb. 27, 2024: Gutierrez-Reed trial continues into day four.
This is a developing timeline. Check back later for more updates.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.