By LAUREN SILVER Court TV
SANTA FE, N.M. (Court TV) — Prosecutors in New Mexico are firing back at a claim made by the attorney representing Alec Baldwin that the gun used in a deadly shooting on a movie set was destroyed.
Actor Alec Baldwin and armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed are charged with involuntary manslaughter in connection with a deadly shooting on the set of the movie “Rust” in Santa Fe. Baldwin was allegedly holding the revolver that fired, shooting and killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on Oct. 21, 2021. Director Joell Souza was also injured in the shooting.
Alec Baldwin attends the Roundabout Theatre Company’s annual gala at the Ziegfeld Ballroom on Monday, March 6, 2023, in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)
During a status conference on Thursday in Santa Fe, Baldwin’s attorney Alex Spiro said the gun had been destroyed.
“The court, I don’t think is aware of this point, but I think I should tell the court that the firearm in this case, that’s a great subject of it, was destroyed by the state,” Spiro said in court. “That’s obviously an issue and we’re going to need to see that firearm, or what’s left of it.”
In a statement, a spokesperson for New Mexico’s First Judicial District Attorney said, “The gun Alec Baldwin used in the shooting that killed Halyna Hutchins has not been destroyed by the state. The gun is in evidence and is available for the defense to review. The defense’s unexpected statement in the status hearing…that the gun had been destroyed by the state may be a reference to a statement in the FBI’s July 2022 firearms testing report that said damage was done to internal components of the gun during the FBI’s functionality testing. However, the gun still exists and can be used as evidence.”
Both Baldwin and Guttierez-Reed have pleaded not guilty and have vowed to fight the charges.
