• News that Baldwin no longer faces any charges related to the incident was announced Thursday,
• Star flew to Montana to finish filming Rust; his lawyers say they are satisfied
• Baldwin accidentally shot and killed Hutchins while filming the Western in New Mexico in October 2021

Alec Baldwin no longer faces charges after accidentally shooting and killing a cinematographer on the set of his western Rust.

The actor, 65, found out on Thursday that two manslaughter charges against him for the October 2021 murder of Halyna Hutchins had been dropped.

His lawyers, Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro, told DailyMail.com: ‘We are pleased with the decision to close the case against Alec Baldwin and we encourage a proper investigation into the facts and circumstances of this tragic accident.

Baldwin arrived in Montana last night to resume filming the movie, which was filming in New Mexico at the time of Hutchins’ death.

The Santa Fe District Attorney’s Office did not immediately return DailyMail.com’s requests for comment.

Newly appointed special prosecutors Kari Morrissey and Jason Lewis are expected to file papers soon to dismiss the charges.

This means the details of the incident need to be investigated further and the case could be resurrected in the future.

Baldwin’s co-defendant and Rust gunsmith, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, still faces the charges against her.

This will keep the accident investigation open and allow prosecutors to retain subpoena power in the future.

This comes just days after the filing of the list of witnesses for the May 3 preliminary hearing became public.

However, it is believed the hearing will not take place, with prosecutors re-examining the circumstances of the incident.

Production came to an abrupt halt in October 2021 when Baldwin fired a live bullet from a prop gun that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the film’s set in New Mexico.

Wardrobe rookie Gutierrez-Reed no longer took part in the filming of the film – which Baldwin pushed to create.

In February, the Santa Fe District Attorney’s Office dropped a charge of building firearms, a felony that would have resulted in a five-year sentence if convicted.

Director Joel Souza, who was injured by the same bullet that killed Hutchins, will also return to complete the project.

Last week, a judge sealed from public view the terms of a civil settlement between Baldwin and Hutchins’ widower, Mathew, and their son.

Mathew Hutchins and Baldwin reached another agreement in October. Part of that stipulated that Hutchins would serve as the film’s executive producer.

After settling the lawsuit last year, Mathew said he wanted no more “recriminations”. But in January, Hutchins’ family said they supported Baldwin being charged with manslaughter.

Last Thursday, Baldwin filed a motion to dismiss another lawsuit brought by Hutchins’ parents and sister, saying they had been estranged from her ‘physically, financially and emotionally for years before her death. “.

Baldwin said in court papers: ‘The loss of a daughter and a sister is undoubtedly painful under any circumstances.

“Yet the plaintiffs who had been estranged physically, financially and emotionally from Halyna for years prior to her death have no viable cause of action against the defendants,” the documents state.

Hutchins was scheduled to testify in court and was added to the New Mexico prosecutor’s list of witnesses to testify at the Feb. 24 preliminary hearing.

Prosecutors initially alleged that Baldwin pulled the trigger on the gun that killed Hutchins while Gutierrez-Reed failed to ensure it was unloaded.

The widower, who shared a nine-year-old son with Halyna, sued Rust’s production team last year and was named executive director as part of the settlement.

The long list of witnesses includes director Joel Souza, who was injured by the bullet that went through Halyna, and assistant director David Halls.

Halls is accused of telling Baldwin the gun was “cold” – safe – a charge he has denied.

He reached a plea deal with prosecutors in January, which included a six-month suspended sentence and a fine.

Props worker Seth Kenney, camera assistant Lane Luper, executive producer Gabrielle Pickle and script supervisor Maime Mitchell will also likely testify.

Prosecutors note in court documents submitted in January that Baldwin was absent from an initial firearms training session.

Gutierrez-Reed arranged a subsequent hour-long session for Baldwin, but they only completed 30 minutes.

“According to Reed, Baldwin was distracted and talking on his cell phone to his family during training,” prosecutors said.

The affidavit claimed Baldwin gave ‘inconsistent accounts’ of how the shooting happened – first telling police he had ‘fired’ the gun, then insisting that he hadn’t pulled the trigger.

Prosecutors said “photos and video clearly show Baldwin, repeatedly, with his finger inside the trigger guard and on the trigger.”

They add: “Baldwin approached responding deputies on the day of the shooting, wanting to speak to them because he was the one who ‘fired’ the gun.”

Baldwin claimed in interviews after the shooting that he did not pull the trigger.

He thinks the fault lies with the gunsmith, who he says should have checked the gun was safe before handing it over to him.

Still, the probable cause statement against Baldwin referenced the FBI’s previous analysis of the firearm, which “clearly showed that the weapon could not ‘accidentally fire.’

The document also states that Baldwin failed to demand “at least two security checks between the gunsmith and himself” before the shooting.