A New Mexico prosecutor on Thursday charged actor Hollywood Alec Baldwin and others in the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during the filming of Western "Rust."
District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies announced involuntary manslaughter charges against Baldwin and the film`s armorer after more than a year of investigation into the October 2021 shooting on a film set outside Santa Fe.
Assistant director David Halls has signed a plea agreement for the charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon, the prosecutor said in a statement.
"After a thorough review of the evidence and the laws of the state of New Mexico, I have determined that there is sufficient evidence to file criminal charges against Alec Baldwin and other members of the `Rust` film crew," Carmack-Altwies said. "On my watch, no one is above the law, and everyone deserves justice."
Baldwin and armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed will each be charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter, she said.
Under New Mexico law, involuntary manslaughter is a fourth-degree felony and is punishable by up to 18 months in jail and a $5,000 fine.
Hutchins was killed when a revolver Baldwin was rehearsing with during filming in New Mexico fired a live round that hit her and movie director Joel Souza, who survived.
The sheriff`s office focused on how live rounds got onto a movie set and how they were loaded into a firearm.
Baldwin has denied responsibility for Hutchins` death and said live rounds should never have been allowed onto the set of the low-budget movie. Baldwin said he was told the gun was "cold," an industry term meaning it is safe to use.
In a 2021 television interview, the actor told ABC News he did not pull the trigger of the replica Pietta .45-caliber long Colt revolver and it fired after he cocked it while rehearsing camera angles with Hutchins.
An FBI forensic test of the single-action revolver found it "functioned normally" and would not fire without the trigger being pulled.
Carmack-Altwies last year hired a special prosecutor and received $318,000 in state funds to pursue what she believed would be high-profile, costly jury trials should charges be filed.
New Mexico`s worker safety agency in April fined the film`s production company the maximum amount possible for what it described as "willful" safety lapses leading to Hutchin`s death.
The agency found Rust Move Productions LLC knew firearm safety procedures were not being followed and showed "plain indifference" to the hazards.
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