Special prosecutors said on Tuesday they are seeking to recharge actor Alec Baldwin with involuntary manslaughter in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer on the set of a ‘Rust’ in New Mexico, two years ago.
Within the next two months, Kari Morrissey and Jason Lewis, prosecutors from New Mexico, plan to present evidence to a grand jury. They have revealed that “additional facts” regarding the October 2021 fatal shooting on the “Rust” set during production outside of Santa Fe have surfaced.
The gun Baldwin was holding discharged during a rehearsal on the movie’s set outside of Santa Fe, injuring director Joel Souza and killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
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Baldwin claims the gun fired when he drew back on the hammer, but not the trigger.
In April, special prosecutors dropped their original attempt to prosecute Baldwin with involuntary manslaughter, stating that they had been told the pistol may have been altered before the incident and had malfunctioned. Later, after obtaining a fresh study of the firearm, they changed course and started debating whether to resubmit a case against Baldwin.
After some of the pistol’s components broke during an earlier FBI test, the gun analysis conducted by ballistics and forensic testing experts located in Arizona and New Mexico depended on replacement parts to reassemble the weapon shot by Baldwin.
The analysis concluded that the trigger had to have been pulled or depressed after looking at the firearm and the marks it left on a spent cartridge.
Baldwin has consistently denied pulling the trigger, but according to the analysis headed by Lucien Haag of Forensic Science Services in Arizona, “the trigger had to be pulled or depressed sufficiently to release the fully cocked or retracted hammer of the evidence revolver,” despite Baldwin’s repeated denials.
Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the weapons supervisor on the film set, has entered a not-guilty plea to the charges of involuntary manslaughter and tampering with evidence. The start of her trial is set for February.
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David Halls, the safety coordinator and associate director of “Rust,” entered a plea of not guilty to a conviction for handling a pistol carelessly in March. He was given a suspended sentence of six months on probation. He consented to assist with the shooting inquiry.
Following the shooting in 2021, several legal lawsuits were filed, with the main thrust of the cases being the defendants’ alleged disregard for safety regulations. Members of Hutchins’ family have filed wrongful death claims in many instances. The accusations that Baldwin and the other defendants were careless with safety regulations have been refuted.
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