By ANDREW DALTON and MORGAN LEE
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — 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 Thursday.
“We are pleased with the decision to dismiss the case against Algec 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.
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.
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.
