Alec Baldwin has been indicted by a grand jury on an involuntary manslaughter charge in connection with the October 2021 fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of "Rust" in New Mexico.
The indictment specifically charges Baldwin, 65, with involuntary manslaughter, citing either negligent use of a firearm or involuntary manslaughter without due caution or circumspection. Both charges are categorized as fourth-degree felonies.
ABC News has more:
In response to Friday's indictment, Baldwin's attorneys, Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro of Quinn Emanuel, said, "We look forward to our day in court."
Special prosecutors investigating the "Rust" shooting said in October 2023 that they believed Baldwin had "criminal culpability" in the deadly shooting. They said at the time they planned to present the case to the grand jury to determine whether probable cause existed to charge him.
The actor was practicing a cross-draw on the Santa Fe set in October 2021 when the gun fired, striking Hutchins and director Joel Souza, who suffered a non-life-threatening injury.
Baldwin was initially charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter, before special prosecutors dropped the case against the actor in April 2023. At the time, they noted their investigation remained "active and ongoing."
"Rust" armorer Hannah Gutierrez was also charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter.
She faces an additional charge of tampering with evidence, with state prosecutors claiming she handed off a small bag of cocaine following her interview with police the day of the shooting.
This comes roughly nine months after prosecutors had previously dropped their case against the actor in relation to Hutchins' death.
Baldwin has long denied pulling the trigger during the fatal incident and went on a P.R. tour after the incident, during which he absolved himself of any responsibility. “Someone is responsible for what happened, and I can’t say who that is,” he told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos. “But I know it’s not me.”
Related: Alec Baldwin Wouldn't Be In Trouble Today if He Were a Conservative
Of course, anyone who understands guns or has common sense knows that guns don’t just spontaneously shoot.
After the charges were dropped, the special prosecutors commissioned a new examination of the gun and other weapons and ammunition present on the “Rust” set and indicated in a court filing in June of 2023 that Baldwin could still face charges. Eventually, ballistics experts and forensic testing confirmed that the Colt.45 revolver used on set did have its trigger pulled or depressed.
“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, led by Lucien Haag of Forensic Science Services in Arizona, explains. “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.”
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