'Who Put a Live Round in the Gun?' Alec Baldwin's 'Rust' Co-Star Speaks Out

Alec Baldwin's Rust co-star Frances Fisher has spoken out in the actor's defense after the news that he will be charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter in the shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.

On October 21, 2021, a gun that Baldwin was holding discharged on the unfinished film's New Mexico set, killing Hutchins and injuring writer-director Joel Souza.

Baldwin, also the film's producer, has maintained that he was unaware the gun contained live rounds and denied pulling the trigger. But New Mexico First Judicial District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies said Thursday that the star will face charges. Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the movie's armorer who was in charge of weapons on the set, will also be charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter.

"After a thorough review of the evidence and the laws of the state of New Mexico, I have determined that there is sufficient evidence to file criminal charges against Alec Baldwin and other members of the Rust film crew," Carmack-Altwies said in a statement. "On my watch, no one is above the law, and everyone deserves justice."

Hutchins' family has welcomed the move, as well as several conservative figures. Meanwhile, a number of actors have spoken out in Baldwin's defense. Among them is Fisher, Baldwin's British-born co-star in the film, who has accused the prosecutor of "grandstanding" and charged that authorities have overlooked the "true culprit" who "put a live round in the gun."

In an apparent reaction to a flood of comments on Twitter, Fisher wrote: "Anyone NOT in the industry or who has not worked on a set should STFU—you're showing your ignorance [zipper-mouth face emoji].

"The grandstanding prosecutor doesn't even go after the true culprit: Who put a live round in the gun?‼️ There is NO investigation about that. THAT is the question," she said.

In the early hours of Friday morning, Frances returned to Twitter to post a Los Angeles Times article detailing information about the shooting. The article, which was originally published the day after the shooting, links to the newspaper's numerous reports related to the incident.

Commenting under the post, Frances tweeted: "Nobody is asking who put the live round into the prop gun. That is the question. Everything else is blame and scapegoating."

Elsewhere on her Twitter feed, Fisher commented on a post from the SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) union, which condemned the charges being brought against Baldwin.

Fisher highlighted a quote from the union's statement that read: "The guidelines require an experienced, qualified armorer to be put in charge of all handling, use and safekeeping of firearms on set. These duties include 'inspecting the firearm and barrel before and after every firing sequence,' and 'checking all firearms before each use.'"

She also addressed the case's special prosecutor in a tweet that she repeatedly shared. It read: "Dear #AndreaReeb, instead of blaming the victim, how about investigating who put the live round into the gun?"

On Thursday, Carmack-Altwies also said that Rust assistant director David Halls had signed a plea agreement on a charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon. Halls reportedly checked the gun that resulted in Hutchins' death before handing it to Baldwin. As a result of the plea agreement, Halls received a suspended sentence and six months of probation.

Gutierrez-Reed, the armorer, said several days after the fatal shooting that she had "no idea" where any live ammunition on the film set came from.

At the time, she was said to be "devastated and completely beside herself over the events that have transpired," a statement from her attorneys, Jason Bowles and Robert Gorence, to NBC News said.

The statement continued: "Safety is Hannah's number one priority on set. Ultimately this set would never have been compromised if live ammo were not introduced. Hannah has no idea where the live rounds came from."

According to the statement from Gutierrez-Reed's attorneys, guns on the film set were locked away during lunch breaks and at night. They also said she had "fought" for further training while working on the Western.

"Hannah and the prop master gained control over the guns and she never witnessed anyone shoot live rounds with these guns and nor would...permit that," the attorneys said.

"Hannah was hired on two positions on this film, which made it extremely difficult to focus on her job as an armorer," the statement continued. "She fought for training, days to maintain weapons and proper time to prepare for gunfire but ultimately was overruled by production and her department.

"The whole production set became unsafe due to various factors, including lack of safety meetings," the statement said.

During a subsequent appearance on NBC's Today show in November 2021, the lawyers suggested that a third party could have inserted a live round in the box of bullets that was labeled as containing dummy rounds.

"I believe that somebody who would do that would want to sabotage the set, want to prove a point, want to say that they're disgruntled, they're unhappy," Bowles told Today's Savannah Guthrie. "And we know that people had walked off the set the day before."

When Guthrie asked if Bowles thought a crew member could have committed such an act, he answered, "I think you can't rule anybody out at this point."

He continued, "We know there was a live round in a box of dummy rounds that shouldn't have been there. We have people who had left the set, who had walked out because they were disgruntled. We have a time frame between 11 [a.m.] and 1 [p.m.], approximately, that day, in which the firearms at times were unattended, so there was opportunity to tamper with this scene."

Involuntary manslaughter is a fourth-degree felony in New Mexico. If convicted, each count carries a maximum sentence of 18 months in jail and up to $5,000 in fines.

However, one of the charges Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed face is involuntary manslaughter in the commission of a lawful act. A firearm enhancement on the charge makes it more severe, with a mandatory penalty of five years in prison.

Following Thursday's announcement of the Baldwin charges, his attorney, Luke Nikas, told Newsweek: "This decision distorts Halyna Hutchins' tragic death and represents a terrible miscarriage of justice.

"Mr. Baldwin had no reason to believe there was a live bullet in the gun—or anywhere on the movie set," Nikas said. "He relied on the professionals with whom he worked, who assured him the gun did not have live rounds. We will fight these charges, and we will win."