Charge to be dropped in Alec Baldwin movie set shooting

SANTA FE, N.M.

Prosecutors in New Mexico plan to drop an involuntary manslaughter charge against Alec Baldwin in the fatal 2021 shooting of a cinematographer on the set of the Western film “ Rust," Baldwin's attorneys said on April 20.

“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," Baldwin's attorneys Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro said in a statement.

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 cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during a rehearsal when the gun when off, killing Hutchins and wounding director Joel 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.

Prosecutors didn’t immediately comment on the case. It wasn’t immediately clear whether charges could be refiled, nor whether the charge would also be dropped against Gutierrez-Reed.

Gutierrez-Reed’s attorneys said that they “fully expect at the end of this process that Hannah will also be exonerated.”

“The truth about what happened will come out and the questions that we have long sought answers for will be answered,” the lawyers, Jason Bowles and Todd Bullion, said in a statement.

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 appointed in the case resigned.

The charges against Baldwin had marked a stunning fall for an A-list actor whose 40-year career included the early blockbuster “The Hunt for Red October” and a starring role in the sitcom “30 Rock,” as well as iconic appearances in Martin Scorsese’s “The Departed” and a film adaptation of David Mamet’s “Glengary Glen Ross.” In recent years, he was known for his impression of former President Donald Trump on “Saturday Night Live."

The 65-year-old worked little since the shooting but hardly went into hiding. He stayed active on social media, making Instagram videos and posting picture of his wife and seven children.