Prosecutors seek to charge Alec Baldwin again for fatal shooting on set of “Rust”

In April, special prosecutors initially dismissed a charge of involuntary manslaughter against Baldwin, saying at the time that they were informed that the gun may have been modified before the shooting and malfunctioned. They later pivoted and began weighing the possibility of re-filing charges against Baldwin after receiving a new analysis of the gun.

Weapons analysis by ballistics and forensic testing experts based in Arizona and New Mexico relied on spare parts to reassemble the gun fired by Baldwin, after parts of the gun broke off during earlier tests by the FBI. The report examined the gun and the marks it left on a spent cartridge to conclude that the trigger must have been pulled or pulled.

The analysis led by Lucien Haag of Forensic Science Services in Arizona stated that, although Baldwin repeatedly denies pulling the trigger, “given the evidence, findings and observations reported here, the trigger had to be pulled or depressed enough to release the fully retracted hammer from the evidence revolver.”

The film’s weapons supervisor, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter and evidence tampering in the case.. His trial is scheduled to begin in February.

In March, “Rust” deputy director and security coordinator David Halls pleaded no contest to a conviction for unsafe handling of a firearm and received a suspended sentence of six months of probation. He agreed to cooperate in the investigation of the shooting.

The 2021 shooting led to a series of civil lawsuits centered on accusations that the defendants were negligent with safety standards. The cases include wrongful death lawsuits filed by members of Hutchins’ family.

Baldwin and other defendants have disputed allegations that they were lax with safety standards.