Prosecutors Seek To Recharge Alec Baldwin In Fatal Movie Set Shooting

SANTA FE, NM — Special prosecutors said Tuesday they are seeking to recharge actor Alec Baldwin with involuntary manslaughter in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer on the set of a Western movie in New Mexico two years ago.

New Mexico-based prosecutors Kari Morrissey and Jason Lewis said they'll present evidence to a grand jury within the next two months, noting that "additional facts" have come to light in the October 2021 fatal shooting on the set of "Rust" during filming on the outskirts of Santa Fe.

Two sources who are familiar with the matter told NBC News a plea deal had recently been discussed. If convicted, Baldwin could face as much as 18 months in prison, NBC News reported.

“It is unfortunate that a terrible tragedy has been turned into this misguided prosecution," Baldwin's attorneys, Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro of Quinn Emanuel, said in a prepared statement. "We will answer any charges in court.”

Baldwin, a coproducer of the film, was pointing a gun at cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during a rehearsal on the film's set outside Santa Fe when the gun went off, killing her and wounding director Joel Souza.

Baldwin has said he pulled back the hammer — but not the trigger — and the gun fired.

"I feel that someone is responsible for what happened, and I can't say who that is, but I know it's not me," the actor told ABC News' George Stephanopoulos in 2021.

Baldwin also told Stephanopoulos that he did not feel guilt about the shooting but that it had left an emotional toll.

Special prosecutors in April initially dismissed an involuntary manslaughter charge against Baldwin, saying at the time that they were informed the gun might have been modified before the shooting and malfunctioned. They later pivoted and began weighing whether to refile a charge against Baldwin after receiving a new analysis of the gun.

“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,” Morrissey and Lewis said in a prepared statement.

“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.”

The gun analysis from experts in ballistics and forensic testing based in Arizona and New Mexico relied on replacement parts to reassemble the gun fired by Baldwin — after parts of the pistol were broken during earlier testing by the FBI. The report examined the gun and markings it left on a spent cartridge to conclude that the trigger had to have been pulled or depressed.

The analysis led by Lucien Haag of Forensic Science Services in Arizona stated that although Baldwin repeatedly denies pulling the trigger, "given the tests, findings and observations reported here, the trigger had to be pulled or depressed sufficiently to release the fully cocked or retracted hammer of the evidence revolver."

The weapons supervisor on the movie set, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, has pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter and evidence tampering in the case. Her trial is scheduled to begin in February.

In March, "Rust" assistant director and safety coordinator David Halls pleaded no contest to a conviction for unsafe handling of a firearm and received a suspended sentence of six months of probation. He agreed to cooperate in the investigation of the shooting.

The 2021 shooting resulted in a series of civil lawsuits centered on accusations that the defendants were lax with safety standards. The cases have included wrongful death claims filed by members of Hutchins' family. Baldwin and other defendants have disputed accusations they were lax with safety standards.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.