Actor Alec Baldwin has been charged with involuntary manslaughter in connection with the shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the movie "Rust" in 2021.
The charges were filed on Friday in Santa Fe, New Mexico, according to court documents. This comes after earlier charges against Baldwin were dropped in April.
Special Prosecutor Kari Morrissey filed the felony charges based on additional testimony given to the grand jury from seven witnesses listed in the indictment. Prosecutors had announced in October that they would seek to re-charge Baldwin after new evidence emerged about the fatal shooting that occurred during filming on October 21, 2021, on the outskirts of Santa Fe.
During a rehearsal, Baldwin, who was also a co-producer of the film, was pointing a gun towards Hutchins when it discharged, resulting in her death. Director Joel Souza was also injured in the incident. Baldwin has maintained that he was told the gun was unloaded and that he did not pull the trigger.
"We look forward to our day in court," said Baldwin's attorneys, Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro of Quinn Emanuel, in a statement on Friday.
In January 2023, both Baldwin and the armorer on set, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, were initially charged with manslaughter following a lengthy investigation. Gutierrez-Reed is scheduled to go to trial in February.
The decision to drop Baldwin's charges in April did not absolve him of criminal culpability, and prosecutors had indicated that charges could be refiled.
Cara Tabachnick, a news editor and journalist at CBSNews.com, reported on the development. Tabachnick has a background in crime reporting and has written for publications such as Marie Claire, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal. She focuses on justice and human rights issues.
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