Alec Baldwin
Criminal charges have been dropped against Alec Baldwin over a fatal on-set shooting in October 2021.
The Emmy-award-winning actor was charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter over the incident during the filming of Rust in New Mexico.
Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed by a live bullet fired from a prop gun that was being used by Baldwin.
The development comes less than two weeks before a trial was set to begin. A statement released by New Mexico special prosecutors Kari Morrissey and Jason Lewis said that “over the last few days… new facts were revealed” in the case, requiring further investigation.
“This decision does not absolve Mr Baldwin of criminal culpability and charges may be refiled,” the statement continued, adding: “Our follow-up investigation will remain active and ongoing.”
A lawyer for Mr Baldwin praised the move by prosecutors.
“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,” his lawyer, Luke Nikas, told the BBC in a statement.
Mr Baldwin had been practising firing the gun on set at a ranch near Santa Fe when it went off, fatally striking 42-year-old Ukrainian-born Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza.
The actor denied pulling the trigger, although an FBI report later concluded that the gun could not have been fired without the trigger being pulled.
He had been due in court for a preliminary hearing on May 3.
The film’s armourer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, is also facing two counts of involuntary manslaughter. The statement from the special prosecutors says the charges against her remain unchanged.
A lawyer for Ms Gutierrez-Reed told BBC News that they “fully expect at the end of this process that Hannah will also be exonerated”. According to the LA Times, prosecutors had recently learned that the gun used in the shooting, a .45 Colt revolver, had been modified with a new trigger in a way that could have made a misfire more likely.
Thursday’s statement by prosecutors made no mention of the gun, but said that the newly revealed facts “demand further investigation and forensic analysis”.
-BBC