Alec Baldwin to be charged over deadly shooting on Rust film set

Actor Alec Baldwin will be charged with involuntary manslaughter over the shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, who was killed on a film set when he fired a prop gun.

Mr Baldwin had been rehearsing a scene for the Western film Rust when the shooting happened at a ranch near Sante Fe, New Mexico in October 2021.

Hannah Gutierrez Reed, the film's armourer, will also be charged with involuntary manslaughter.

Neither have commented on the charges.

On Thursday, Santa Fe's District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies announced in a statement that charges would be filed against them by the end of the month.

"Actor and producer Alec Baldwin and armourer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed will each be charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter," the statement read. "After a thorough review of the evidence... I have determined that there is sufficient evidence."

"On my watch, no one is above the law, and everyone deserves justice," she said.

The pair face up to 18 months in jail and a $5,000 (£4,040) fine if convicted. They will be tried by a jury, prosecutors said.

Film director Joel Souza was also wounded in the shooting, but prosecutors said no charges would be filed in connection with that.

After the shooting, Mr Baldwin said the gun had misfired. He added that he did not pull the trigger on the gun and he was not aware that it was loaded.

"I don't know what happened on that set. I don't know how that bullet arrived in that gun. I don't know," he said in December 2021.