Alec Baldwin charged with manslaughter in 'Rust' movie set fatal shooting case

A grand jury indicted Alec Baldwin on Friday (Jan 19)on an involuntary manslaughter charge in a 2021 fatal shooting during a rehearsal on theset of the movie 'Rust' in New Mexico.

The case was brought before a grand jury by special prosecutors earlier this week. The development occurred months after an FBI analysis report of the gun that was used during the incident came into the public domain.

Defence attorneys for Alec indicated they’ll fight the charge. "We look forward to our day in court,"said Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro, defence attorneys for Baldwin, in an email, according to Associated Press.

In April 2023, special prosecutors dismissed the involuntary manslaughter charge against Baldwin. They said that the firearm couldhave been modified before the shooting and malfunctioned.

But in August, prosecutors said they were considering re-filing the charges after a new analysis of the weapon was completed.

Alec Baldwin involuntarymanslaughter case: What is it about?

In October 2021, while rehearsing on the set of the movie Rust, Baldwin was reportedly pointing a gun at cinematographer Halyna Hutchins when it went off.

Hutchins, who worked on more than 30 feature-length films, short films, and TV miniseries, including the films Archenemy, Darlin', and Blindfire, died later. The gunshot also wounded the film's director Joel Souza.

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Baldwin, who was also co-producing the film, later said he did not pull the trigger but pulled back the hammer of the gun before it fired.

What have investigations found so far?

A report from experts in forensic testing said: "Although Alec Baldwin repeatedly denies pulling the trigger, given the tests, findings and observations reported here, the trigger had to be pulled or depressed sufficiently to release the fully cocked or retracted hammer of the evidence revolver."

Baldwin and his co-producers are also facing civil lawsuits over financial compensation. This includes members of the Rust crew.

Those cases, however, have been put on hold,while the criminal matter proceeds.

(With inputs from agencies)