According to people acquainted with the situation, the charges against Alec Baldwin in connection with the shooting that occurred on the set of “Rust” have been dismissed.

After Baldwin, 65, fatally shot cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, 42, while filming a Western in New Mexico in October 2021, he was arrested and charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter. The incident occurred on the set of The Western. When the actor was practicing a cross-draw, the pistol accidentally went off, hitting cinematographer and director Joel Souza, who was injured but did not need immediate medical attention.

“We were pleased with the decision to dismiss the case against Alec Baldwin and we encourage an adequate inquiry into the specifics and circumstances of this tragic accident,” Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro, lawyers representing Alec Baldwin, said in a statement. ”

The District Attorney’s Office in Santa Fe refused to comment on the matter.

The next scheduled court appearance for Baldwin in this matter was scheduled for May 3rd. Baldwin has already given up his ability to participate in the preliminary hearing by waiving his right to do so. In a court document, he had already entered a not-guilty plea to the allegations against him.

Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who worked as the film’s armorer, was also arrested and charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter in relation to Hutchins’ loss.

Late in the month of February, the accusations of gun enhancement that had been brought in the case against both Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed were dismissed.

It has been planned for Gutierrez-Reed to make an appearance at a preliminary hearing that will begin on May 3. Her counsel has said that she will be entering a not-guilty plea, and she has stated that she has no clue how live bullets got inside the pistol in the first place.

Her legal team said in a statement on Thursday that they “fully expect at the end of this process that Hannah will also be exonerated,” despite the fact that they verified the fact that she is still facing accusations.

Her lawyers, Jason Bowles and Todd Bullion issued a statement in which they claimed, “The truth about what happened will come out,” and that “the questions that we have long sought answers for will be answered.”

As part of the agreement he made to plead guilty, David Halls, who worked as the first assistant director on the movie, was given a sentence of six months of unsupervised probation. The accusation of careless use of a lethal weapon was brought against Halls since he was the one who passed the Colt.45 revolver to Baldwin before the shooting took place.

His hearing took place a few days after the District Attorney of Santa Fe, Mary Carmack-Altwies, made the announcement that she would no longer be pursuing the case. The action came after a state representative named Andrea Reeb also resigned from her role as the case’s special prosecutor.

The position of the special prosecutor has been given to Kari Morrissey and Jason Lewis by the district attorney, who took their place.

Morrissey and Lewis issued a joint statement late on Thursday night in which they said that “new facts were revealed that demand further investigation and forensic analysis in the case.”

As a consequence of this, we are unable to go further with this case given the time limits that are now in place as well as the facts and evidence that were handed over by law enforcement in their present state. Because of this, we are going to drop the allegations of involuntary manslaughter that were brought against Mr. Baldwin so that we may continue our investigation,” they stated. This ruling does not exonerate Mr. Baldwin of any criminal responsibility, and more accusations might be brought against him. Our subsequent inquiry will continue in a proactive and continuous manner.

According to the statements made by the special prosecutors, the allegations against Gutierrez-Reed “remain unchanged.” On Friday, there will be a conference to discuss the current situation.

According to a representative for Rust Movie Productions, the production of “Rust,” which had been put on hold after the fatal shooting that occurred on site, started main filming on Thursday at Yellowstone Film Ranch in Montana. The project went back into production with the same key actors and producers as before, including Alec Baldwin.