American actor Alec Baldwin faces involuntary manslaughter charges carrying prison time in the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during the 2021 filming of the Western "Rust" in New Mexico, Trend reports citing Reuters.
Santa Fe's top prosecutor, District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies, said on Thursday that the film's armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, would also be charged with involuntary manslaughter. She said charges would be filed by the end of this month.
Hutchins' family welcomed the announcement, while Baldwin attorney Luke Nikas said, "this decision distorts Halyna Hutchins' tragic death and represents a terrible miscarriage of justice."
The charging decision was met with surprise in Hollywood and followed more than a year of investigation after a pistol fired a live round in October 2021 as Baldwin, 64, was rehearsing with it on the set of the movie being filmed outside Santa Fe. The movie's director, Joel Souza, was hit and wounded by the same .45-caliber bullet that killed Hutchins.
A Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office investigation did not reveal how live ammunition got onto the set.