Alec Baldwin Could Face Charges Again in 2021 ‘Rust’ Set Shooting

Alec Baldwin could be facing manslaughter charges once again for the on set accidental shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins in 2021.

The shooting occurred in October 2021, as Baldwin was rehearsing a scene for the film alongside the camera crew. As he was preparing for his scene, the prop gun he was holding went off and the bullet hit and killed Hutchins and injured director Joel Souza. Baldwin has previously argued that he did not pull the trigger of the gun.

In January 2023, Baldwin and the film’s armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, were charged with involuntary manslaughter for the shooting. But in April 2023, the charges against Baldwin were dropped after local police turned over more evidence.

“New facts were revealed that demand further investigation and forensic analysis,” prosecutors Kari T. Morrissey and Jason J. Lewis said at the time. “This decision does not absolve Mr. Baldwin of criminal culpability and charges may be refiled.”

But on Tuesday, it was reported that those charges could be refiled after a forensics report that analyzed the prop gun used by Baldwin on set concluded that the gun would only fire if the trigger was pulled. According to Variety, the forensics team reconstructed the gun that was used on the Rust set after the original was damaged during the FBI’s investigation into the shooting.

“This fatal incident was the consequence of the hammer being manually retracted to its fully rearward and cocked position followed, at some point, by the pull or rearward depression of the trigger,” the 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,” the report said.