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Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, 42, died and director Joel Souza was wounded in a shooting on the set of "Rust" near Santa Fe, New Mexico, on October 21, 2021, but the involuntary manslaughter case against actor and producer Alec Baldwin was later dismissed with prejudice, ending without a conviction.

"Rust" was a low-budget Western in production at Bonanza Creek Ranch, south of Santa Fe. Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was the film's armorer, responsible for weapons on the set. During a scene setup inside a church building, Baldwin was holding a Colt .45-caliber revolver when a live round discharged, striking Hutchins and then Souza, who survived. How live ammunition reached a set that was supposed to contain only dummy and blank rounds was never resolved in court.

The Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office interviewed Baldwin that day. Deputies read him his Miranda rights and told him he was not being charged. During the interview, they informed him that Hutchins had died. Baldwin said he had been holding the gun and that it had been handed to him as a "cold gun," the set term for a firearm checked and declared safe. He admitted no wrongdoing. The sheriff's office released the interview, body camera footage, witness interviews and other case files on April 25, 2022.

FBI forensic testing reported in August 2022 concluded that, with its internal components intact, the revolver could not fire without a pull of the trigger. It fired without one only when the hammer was struck directly after the weapon had been damaged during testing. In a December 2021 interview, Baldwin said the trigger was not pulled and that he did not pull it.

Baldwin was initially charged with involuntary manslaughter with a firearm enhancement. The enhancement was withdrawn, and the charges were dropped in April 2023. A grand jury re-indicted him in January 2024 on a single involuntary manslaughter count carrying up to 18 months in prison. His trial began in July 2024 before Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer of New Mexico's First Judicial District.

On July 12, 2024, the third day of trial, Sommer dismissed the case with prejudice. Ammunition delivered to the sheriff's office in March 2024 by Troy Teske, a retired officer and friend of Gutierrez-Reed's father, had been logged under a separate case number by crime scene technician Marissa Poppell and never disclosed to the defense. Sommer found the state's conduct "intentional and deliberate" and said there was "no way for the court to right the wrong." Prosecutors appealed, but special prosecutor Kari Morrissey withdrew the appeal on December 23, 2024, ending the criminal case. Baldwin cannot be charged again on that count.

Gutierrez-Reed was tried separately, convicted of involuntary manslaughter in March 2024 and sentenced to 18 months. Sommer denied her bid for a new trial or dismissal on September 30, 2024. Gutierrez-Reed was released on parole in May 2025 after serving about 14 months. A wrongful death suit brought by Hutchins's widower, Matthew Hutchins, and the couple's young son was settled, and a judge approved the settlement on June 2, 2023. The sealed terms were not disclosed. Matthew Hutchins became an executive producer on the film, which resumed production.

The video is a police interview-room recording running about 73 minutes. It shows the interview itself, without narration or a presenter.