LOS ANGELES — With the announcement on Thursday that criminal charges will be filed in the accidental shooting in 2021 of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the Western "Rust," Alec Baldwin is likely to see his already damaged career erode even further.
Baldwin, who starred in the yet-to-be-completed "Rust" and was one of its producers, will be charged by New Mexico prosecutors with two counts of involuntary manslaughter for his role in the fatality. Baldwin shot Hutchins in the chest on Oct. 21, 2021, while rehearsing a scene with her and the film's director, Joel Souza, who was wounded.
In a statement following the announcement, an attorney for Baldwin, Luke Nikas, said, "This decision distorts Halyna Hutchins' tragic death and represents a terrible miscarriage of justice. Mr. Baldwin had no reason to believe there was a live bullet in the gun — or anywhere on the movie set. He relied on the professionals with whom he worked, who assured him the gun did not have live rounds. We will fight these charges, and we will win."
