Charges dropped against Alec Baldwin in fatal ‘Rust’ movie set shooting: lawyers – National | Globalnews.ca

New Mexico prosecutors have dropped criminal charges against actor Alec Baldwin in the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the Western movie “Rust” in 2021, Baldwin’s lawyers said on Thursday.

Baldwin, 65, was charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter in January in Hutchins’ death and the injury of “Rust” director Joel Souza, who was also shot.

The actor was accused of showing a “reckless” disregard for safety in Hutchins’ death. He pleaded not guilty to all charges in February.

“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,” Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro, the attorneys for Alec Baldwin, said in a statement.

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Baldwin and the film’s weapons supervisor Hannah Gutierrez-Reed were both charged with involuntary manslaughter in the shooting.

Baldwin was pointing a pistol at Hutchins during a rehearsal when the gun when off, killing Hutchins and wounding 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.

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.

More to come…