Alec Baldwin facing fresh manslaughter charge
A grand jury in Santa Fe, New Mexico, has charged Alec Baldwin with a fresh count of involuntary manslaughter.
The previous charges against Baldwin over a fatal shooting on the set of Rust were dropped last year just weeks before the criminal trial was set to begin, but this indictment has revived the case against the actor.
The shooting took place in October 2021 when Baldwin pointed a gun at Halyna Hutchins, the film’s cinematographer. When the gun went off, Hutchins was killed, and the director, Joel Souza, was wounded.
Baldwin has insisted he pulled back the hammer, but not the trigger, when the gun fired and claims he did not know the weapon was loaded.
Special prosecutors in New Mexico said in October last year that “additional facts” had come to light following forensic reconstruction of the weapon, which had been broken during FBI testing. They said it had been revealed that the trigger had been pulled.
Baldwin’s attorney told the BBC: “We look forward to our day in court.”
Their report stated: “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.”
This new evidence was brought to a grand jury of 12, and the indictment was delivered on January 19th. If convicted, the actor faces up to 18 months in prison.
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