Alec Baldwin will not be charged for the shooting of Rust director, Joel Souza, despite the fact that he was hit with the same bullet that the D.A. claims was fired recklessly and resulted in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
The Santa Fe D.A’s office told TMZ that there is simply no crime in regards to the Souza incident.
The D.A claims the only way to label the incident with Souza is to class it as “unintentional battery” and no such law exists as battery needs intent and the incident with Baldwin showed no intention to cause harm, according to the D.A.
Baldwin has responded to the criminal charges that have now been formally filed in connection with the fatal shooting which took place on the movie set of Rust in 2021.
The actor previously reached an undisclosed settlement with the family of Halyna Hutchins, the cinematographer who was sadly shot and killed on the set of his movie.
Hutchins was killed when a gun discharged, held by Alec Baldwin. The actor claimed he believed it was a prop gun. The 64-year-old also previously broke down in tears and claimed that he didn’t pull the trigger of the gun that killed Hutchins.
On Thursday, an announcement was made that Baldwin and multiple members of the production crew are being criminally charged.
The 64-year-old has been charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter. He has released a public statement, through his attorney, Luke Nikas. It reads:
“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.”
According to an FBI report obtained by ABC News, the firearm ‘could not be made to fire without a pull of the trigger’.
The FBI also came to the conclusion that the gun was working correctly, stating in the report that the ‘internal components were intact and functional’.
Footage of the actor being told the news that Hutchins had sadly passed away, also surfaced.
