The latest court documents filed by prosecutors in the case of Alec Baldwin shed new light on the events leading up to the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the movie “Rust” in New Mexico in 2021. According to the filings, Baldwin, who was indicted on a charge of manslaughter in January and pleaded not guilty, was accused of frequently losing control of his emotions on set, screaming and cursing at himself and crew members. Prosecutors alleged that Baldwin's behavior contributed to safety compromises on set, ultimately leading to the tragic shooting.

The court filings also highlighted the hiring of Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, a young and inexperienced armorer, by Baldwin, who was the lead producer of the film. Prosecutors claimed that Gutierrez-Reed was not up to the job and that Baldwin, as the most experienced member of the cast and crew, should have noticed her lack of experience. The filing also alleged that Baldwin arrived on set a week after filming had begun, missing initial firearms training offered to other actors, and was inattentive during a separate training session, spending time on the phone with his family or making videos with guns.

The prosecutors accused Baldwin of going against the instructions of director Joel Souza during the scene in which the shooting occurred, where Baldwin was expected to slowly pull his gun from its holster but not fire it. Baldwin has maintained that he did not pull the trigger before the gun fired and that it had been declared “cold” by assistant director Dave Halls. However, prosecutors claimed that Baldwin offered contradictory versions of events to law enforcement and in the media, leading to confusion about what actually happened on set.

The court filings also mentioned the conviction of Gutierrez-Reed for involuntary manslaughter and the guilty plea of assistant director Dave Halls to a misdemeanor charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon. Gutierrez-Reed faces up to 18 months in prison and is due to be sentenced next week. The filings suggested that Baldwin's unpredictable behavior and the combination of Gutierrez-Reed's negligence and inexperience led to the tragic shooting of Halyna Hutchins.

As Baldwin awaits trial in July, the court filings paint a picture of a chaotic and unsafe set environment that ultimately resulted in a devastating loss. The case has sparked renewed calls for stricter safety protocols on movie sets and has left the Hollywood community reeling from the tragic incident.