‘Rust’ Prosecutors Are Dropping Charges Against Alec Baldwin, His Lawyers Say

Lawyers for Alec Baldwin said on Thursday that New Mexico prosecutors were dropping the involuntary manslaughter charges he was facing in the 2021 shooting death of a cinematographer who was killed on the set of the film “Rust” when a gun he was practicing with went off.

In a statement, Mr. Baldwin’s lawyers, Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro, said, “We are pleased with the decision to dismiss the case against Alec Baldwin and we encourage a proper investigation into the facts and circumstances of this tragic accident.”

The district attorney’s office for Santa Fe County, which had brought the charges against Mr. Baldwin this year, did not immediately comment. Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the film’s armorer, was also charged with involuntary manslaughter in the shooting.

The charges related to the Oct. 21, 2021, shooting on the set of “Rust,” a western, when the gun Mr. Baldwin was holding went off, killing the cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounding its director, Joel Souza. Mr. Baldwin had been told there was no live ammunition in the gun.

The prosecution had already faced several setbacks, and District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies stepped down from the case last month, appointing two New Mexico lawyers, Kari Morrissey and Jason Lewis, as special prosecutors. Ms. Morrissey and Mr. Lewis did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Andrea Reeb, the case’s previous special prosecutor, removed herself after Mr. Baldwin’s lawyers had argued that her appointment violated the State Constitution because she also serves as a state legislator. The charges against Mr. Baldwin had already been downgraded after his lawyers noted that one was based on a law that had not been in effect at the time of the shooting.

A judge in New Mexico had been set to decide next month whether the manslaughter charges could move forward. Mr. Baldwin had previously pleaded not guilty, and a lawyer for Ms. Gutierrez-Reed has said that she intended to do so.

This is a developing article.