New Mexico prosecutors have decided to indict actor Alec Baldwin for his role in the shooting on the set of the western 'Rust' in which the film's cinematographer Halyna Hutchins died.
The decision to sue the star for involuntary manslaughter comes 15 months after the tragic October 2021 incident when a shot was fired from a live ammunition pistol held by Baldwin during filming.
A bullet struck director Joel Souza in the shoulder and then ricocheted, killing Hutchins.
Santa Fe-area District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies has also charged on-set gun maintenance worker Hannah Gutierrez Reed with involuntary manslaughter, while assistant director David Halls pleaded guilty of negligent use of a lethal weapon.
In New Mexico, involuntary manslaughter is a fourth-degree felony and carries a maximum sentence of 18 months in prison.
Baldwin has always denied: "I would never point a gun at someone and then pull the trigger," he told ABC in December 2021.
The plaintiff has always maintained that he had been told that the gun was "cold", that it was not armed with 'live' bullets and that the shot had been fired without him having pressed the trigger.