Alec Baldwin has been charged with one count of involuntary manslaughter over the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
As reported by BBC News, a grand jury in New Mexico has charged the actor with a count of involuntary manslaughter over the fatal shooting that took place on the set of the movie Rust back in October 2021.
The decision to indict the 65-year-old star was announced on Friday (January 19) after a grand jury in New Mexico heard evidence presented by special prosecutors Kari Morrissey and Jason Lewis.
Baldwin now faces up to 18 months in prison, CBS News reports.
The actor's attorneys, Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro, of Quinn Emanuel, responded to the decision with the statement: "We look forward to our day in court."
Previous charges against the Emmy award-winning actor had been dropped last April, but local prosecutors later determined in October that "additional facts" meant that the case should be put to a grand jury.
Back in April, filming for Alec Baldwin's western movie resumed at Yellowstone Film Ranch in Montana - a year and a half after cinematographer Halyna Hutchins died following a fatal shooting on set.
In October 2021, 42-year-old Hutchins tragically lost her life after a prop gun Baldwin had been holding discharged a live round. The incident also injured director Joel Souza, who survived.
After the tragic incident, Baldwin was charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter, however, it was reported in April that all criminal charges were dropped. However, NBC News reported in October that New Mexico prosecutors were attempting to once again seek to charge the actor over the shooting.
In response to the prosecutors seeking to once again recharge Baldwin, his lawyers - Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro - said in a statement back in October: "It is unfortunate that a terrible tragedy has been turned into this misguided prosecution. We will answer any charges in court."
Following filming on the movie being resumed, Hutchins' husband served as an executive producer on the project and agreed for the movie to be finished as part of a settlement reached with Baldwin.
And back in May, Baldwin finally confirmed on his Instagram that production for the movie was over - sharing a selfie flaunting his clean-shaven face with the caption: "God, it felt good to shave off that beard…."
Previously unseen footage has been obtained and shared by NBC News showing Baldwin performing scenes for the movie was released in November.
The video shows Baldwin firing a prop gun while acting out what appears to be a gunfight scene. You can see the footage below:
At one point in the footage, Baldwin can be heard telling a crew member off-camera: "If I am going to shoot right, do you want to go to the other side of the camera? I don’t want to shoot toward you."
NBC News confirmed that it obtained roughly seven minutes of footage - split across five different videos.
In two of the videos, Baldwin can be heard expressing concerns about the crews' safety and attempting to rearrange them so that he is not having to point the prop gun in their direction.
The footage was reportedly captured just days before Hutchins' tragic death, and is the first footage released showing Baldwin working with a prop gun on the New Mexico set.
Baldwin has previously stated that he feels he is not responsible for Hutchins' death and that he did not pull the trigger.
