Hollywood star Alec Baldwin could soon face fresh charges in connection to the fatal Rust shooting almost exactly two years ago as New Mexico prosecutors seek to present new evidence to a grand jury.
The announcement represents a dramatic reversal after prosecutors dropped their involuntary manslaughter case against Baldwin earlier this year. On Tuesday, they said “additional facts have come to light” following an “extensive” investigation they carried out in recent months.
Santa Fe County Sheriff's OfficeIt remains unclear what the nature of the new charges could be, but prosecutors had submitted the gun used in the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins for further analysis, according to a New York Times report.
Director Joel Souza was also injured after the gun in Baldwin’s hand was discharged during a rehearsal.
“After extensive investigation over the past several months, additional facts have come to light that we believe show Mr. Baldwin has criminal culpability in the death of Halyna Hutchins and the shooting of Joel Souza,” special prosecutors Kari Morrissey and Jason Lewis said in a statement reported by Deadline.
“We believe the appropriate course of action is to permit a panel of New Mexico citizens to determine from here whether Mr. Baldwin should be held over for criminal trial.”
Baldwin’s lawyers condemned the turn of events on Tuesday.
“It is unfortunate that a terrible tragedy has been turned into this misguided prosecution,” Baldwin’s lawyers Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro of Quinn Emanuel reportedly said in a statement. “We will answer any charges in court.”
Rust has re-commenced production in Montana in April, with Baldwin returning to complete the movie. No release date has been announced for the independently produced western.
Alec Baldwin, who has maintained that the gun went off involuntarily, still faces civil lawsuits related to the on-set shooting death.
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