Manslaughter charges against Alec Baldwin in Rust fatal shooting dropped

Filming of low-budget Western set to resume this week

Criminal charges filed against Alex Baldwin for the fatal Rust shooting of the film's cinematographer were set to be dropped, his lawyers said. Reuters

Criminal charges filed against actor Alec Baldwin over the fatal shooting of Rust cinematographer Halyna Hutchins have been dropped, his lawyers said on Thursday.

“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,” Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro said.

Baldwin and film armourer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed were both charged with involuntary manslaughter over the 2021 shooting.

The actor was pointing a firearm at Ms Hutchins during a rehearsal for the Western film when the gun discharged, killing her and wounding director Joel Souza.

Baldwin has maintained that he did not pull the trigger when the gun went off, although an FBI report disputed claims that the weapon could be fired if the trigger was not pulled.

He had pleaded not guilty in the case, while Ms Gutierrez-Reed said she intended to plead not guilty.

A weapons charge against Baldwin had already been dismissed.

David Halls, the film's assistant director, was sentenced to six months of unsupervised probation after accepting a plea deal for a misdemeanour charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon.

Filming of Rust was set to continue this week, 18 months after Ms Hutchins's death.

Agencies contributed to this report