Alec Baldwin expected to be recharged with manslaughter for fatal Rust shooting

New Mexico prosecutors reportedly intend to recharge Alec Baldwin with involuntary manslaughter in connection with the fatal 2021 shooting on the Rust film set.

Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed after a prop gun held by Baldwin discharged a real bullet while they were filming the Western movie.

Baldwin has consistently denied pulling the trigger on the prop weapon.

NBC News first reported on Tuesday (17 October) that Baldwin’s case will be brought before a grand jury in mid-November.

Citing sources, the publication reports that prosecutors say they have found new evidence that they believe connects Baldwin to recklessness around safety standards on the set.

“The forensic testing of the gun concluded with certainty that the trigger of the gun had to have been pulled for the gun to go off,” one of the prosecutors, Kari T Morrissey, said in an interview on Tuesday, according to The New York Times.

“We believe that based on our lengthy and detailed investigation that it is appropriate for a grand jury in New Mexico to make a decision on whether the case should proceed,” Morrissey added.

“It is unfortunate that a terrible tragedy has been turned into this misguided prosecution,” Baldwin’s attorneys Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro said in a statement. “We will answer any charges in court.”

The charge could carry up to 18 months in prison if convicted.

Rust armourer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed is currently the sole remaining defendant in the involuntary manslaughter case after prosecutors dropped charges against Baldwin in April.

New Mexico district court Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer has set a 2024 starting date for Gutierrez-Reed’s trial.

The armourer has pleaded not guilty to charges of involuntary manslaughter and evidence tampering.

The filming of Rust resumed this year in Montana, under an agreement with the cinematographer’s widower, Matthew Hutchins, that made him an executive producer.

In June, Matthew settled a wrongful death suit between Baldwin and the Rust producers.

“All of us believe Halyna’s death was a terrible accident. I am grateful that the producers and the entertainment community have come together to pay tribute to Halyna’s final work,” he said after the settlement.