Special prosecutors are seeking to recharge actor Alec Baldwin with involuntary manslaughter in a 2021 fatal shooting on the movie set of “Rust” in New Mexico, the Associated Press reported Tuesday.
The involuntary manslaughter charge against Baldwin was initially dropped in April, but New Mexico-based prosecutors Kari Morrissey and Jason Lewis have pivoted after receiving a new analysis of the gun that was used, according to the Associated Press.
The case against Baldwin will be presented before a grand jury in mid-November.
Baldwin, a co-producer of the film, was pointing a gun at cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during a rehearsal on the film’s set outside Santa Fe when the gun went off, killing her and wounding director Joel Souza.
The film's weapons supervisor, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who was in charge of making sure the gun wasn't loaded with real bullets, was also charged with involuntary manslaughter back in January.
Prosecutors faced numerous hurdles since the charges were announced, but it's unclear what ultimately led to Baldwin’s case originally being dismissed.
The Santa Fe district attorney had already dropped an original gun enhancement charge after Baldwin's attorney pointed out that the law went into effect months after the shooting.
Baldwin has maintained his innocence, claiming he was told that the gun was safe. He also said in a TV interview that he did not pull the trigger when the gun went off, and that he only cocked the hammer.
In June, prosecutors alleged Gutierrez-Reed was drinking and smoking marijuana in the evenings during the filming, saying she was likely hungover when she loaded a live bullet into the revolver that the actor used.
Taylor O'Bier
