Alec Baldwin once fired a blank round at a crew member on the set of “Rust,” prosecutors alleged in new court papers, as they accused the actor of being reckless with firearms while filming.
Prosecutors in the New Mexico involuntary manslaughter case against the “30 Rock” star said they plan to bring evidence at his trial — slated to begin on July 9 — showing that Baldwin had a history of flouting safety protocols on set, which led to Halyna Hutchins’ tragic shooting death in 2021.
One such reckless moment came when Baldwin, 66, pointed his gun and fired “a blank round at a crew member” while he held the person target in his line of sight, prosecutors alleged in the Monday filing.
Other examples of Baldwin ignoring safety procedures between Oct. 12, 2021 up until the day of the shooting included him using his gun as a pointer; firing the weapon after filming was over in violation of safety rules; holding his finger on the trigger in scenes that didn’t require it; rushing armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed to reload his gun faster; and being on FaceTime with his family and making videos for them during firearms training, the court papers claimed.
And before filming even started Baldwin — one of the producers and the leading actor in the movie — “asked to be assigned the ‘biggest’ gun available,” the filing alleged.
Prosecutors said they have photos and videos of Baldwin that they plan to show a jury acting cavalierly toward on-set safety rules.
In one clip, he “can be seen engaging in horseplay with his gun and pulling his gun when the scene did not call for the pulling of his gun,” the papers claimed. “When he pulls his gun the muzzle of the gun is pointed directly at another actor.”
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Prosecutors said many clips show an angry and aggressive Baldwin, who can also be seen halting filming to yell and swear at the crew.
“Mr. Baldwin can be seen screaming intermittently throughout the attempts at filming the scene,” the filing claimed. “He exercises complete control over the set by stopping the acting sequence, cursing loudly and rushing the other cast and crew.”
Taken altogether this “intrinsic evidence” of Baldwin’s “other acts” leading up to Hutchins’ death shows that the incident wasn’t an “accident or mistake” — as Baldwin has maintained all along, prosecutors said.
During a rehearsal on the set of the Western film, Baldwin aimed his revolver in the direction of cinematographer Hutchins when it fired, killing her and wounding director Joel Souza.
Baldwin pleaded not guilty and faces up to 1 and 1/2 years if convicted.
Armorer Gutierrez-Reed, 26, was sentenced to 18 months behind bars in April after her conviction on the same charge Baldwin now faces.
A video hearing has been scheduled for Baldwin on Friday to go over a slew of motions for the upcoming trial.
Baldwin’s lawyers didn’t immediately return a request for comment Wednesday morning.
