The charge against Alec Baldwin has been dropped. Photo / Getty Images
The charge against Alec Baldwin has been dropped. Photo / Getty Images
Criminal charges against Alec Baldwin over the fatal shooting on the set of his movie Rusthave been dropped.
Baldwin, 65, was charged with involuntary manslaughter over the October 21, 2021 shooting of the 45-year-old cinematographer on the New Mexico set of the western movie, after a prop pistol he was using for a scene fired a real bullet.
He had always maintained his innocence and pleaded not guilty to the charges, brought by the Santa Fe District Attorney.
In a statement to the New York Post, Baldwin’s lawyers Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro said; “We are pleased with the decision to dismiss the case against Alec Baldwin and we encourage a proper investigation into the facts and circumstances of this tragic accident.”
Rust director Joel Souza was also wounded in the on-set shooting.
A second person charged with involuntary manslaughter alongside Baldwin, the film’s former armourer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, is still facing charges in connection with the shooting.
A spokesman for the Santa Fe District Attorney’s office did not immediately respond to the Post’s request for comment.
Baldwin was pointing a pistol at cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during a rehearsal when the gun when off, killing Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza.
Baldwin has said the gun went off accidentally and that he did not pull the trigger. An FBI forensic report found the weapon could not have fired unless the trigger was pulled.
Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins died after being shot with a prop gun by Alec Baldwin. Photo / Instagram @halynahutchins
The case against Baldwin had already been diminishing. A weapons charge that would have meant a much longer sentence had already been dismissed, and the first special prosecutor in the case resigned.
In documents obtained by New Mexico’s KRQE News, the probable cause statement filed against Baldwin alleged, “On the day of the shooting alone, evidence shows that no less than a dozen acts, or omissions of recklessness, occurred in the short time prior to lunch and the time of the shooting, and this does not include the reckless handling of the firearm by Baldwin.”
Adding, “By act or omission or failure to act in his position as a producer directly contributed and/or failed to mitigate numerous reckless and dangerous actions during a very short time period.”
Involuntary manslaughter can involve a killing that happens while a defendant is doing something that is lawful but dangerous and is acting negligently or without caution.
If found guilty Baldwin could have faced a maximum sentence of 18 months behind bars.
