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This story has been updated.
On Friday, April 21, prosecutors in New Mexico, where the 65-year-old had been shooting scenes for the film “Rust” at the time of the shooting, announced they had formally dropped the manslaughter charges against Baldwin in the death of Halyna Hutchins pending further investigation.
"Over the last few days and in preparation for the May 3 preliminary hearing, new facts were revealed that demand further investigation and forensic analysis in the case against (Baldwin)," Special Prosecutors Kari Morrissey and Jason Lewis said in a statement.
"Consequently, we cannot proceed under the current time constraints and on the facts and evidence turned over by law enforcement in its existing form.
"We therefore will be dismissing the involuntary manslaughter charges against Mr. Baldwin to conduct further investigation."
The decision does not absolve Baldwin of criminal culpability and charges could be refiled in the future, prosecutors said.
Criminal charges against Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the movie's armorer, remain unchanged.
The shooting occurred on Oct. 21, 2021 at the Bonanza Creek Ranch, located about 13 miles southwest of Santa Fe. Baldwin was preparing to film a scene for the Western film that required his character to remove a gun from his holster and then point it at the camera.
As he explained how the scene would play out, Baldwin removed the gun and a live round was fired, striking Hutchins in the chest and director Joel Souza in the shoulder, according to investigators.
Hutchins was flown to a hospital in Albuquerque, where she was pronounced dead. She was 42 years old.
Souza was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries and was released the following morning.
Santa Fe County District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies had initially announced that Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed would be criminally charged in January 2023.
They were to be charged “in the alternative,” she said, meaning that a jury would not decide if they were guilty, but would instead decide what definition of involuntary manslaughter they were guilty of.
Additionally, assistant director David Halls signed a plea agreement related to the charge of the negligent use of a deadly weapon, which includes a suspended sentence and six months of probation.
“Rust” resumed filming in January outside of New Mexico, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
A native New Yorker, Baldwin was born on Long Island in Amityville, raised in Massapequa, and now resides in the Hamptons, in Amagansett.
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