Possible Criminal Charges to Be Announced Over Fatal ‘Rust’ Movie Shooting

The Bonanza Creek Ranch, where the film "Rust" was being filmed in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on Oct. 23, 2021. Jae C. Hong/AP Photo

More than a year after a camerawoman was accidentally shot and killed on a movie set in New Mexico, the local district attorney will reportedly decide this month on whether to press criminal charges over the incident that involved actor Alec Baldwin.

The office of Santa Fe First Judicial District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies told Albuquerque ABC affiliate KOAT that by the end of January, an announcement will be made about whether charges on the case will be pursued.

An exact date was not given.

The case was handed to Altwies in October after the Santa Fe Sheriff’s Office completed its investigation, which was released in November.

At that time, a spokesperson for the district attorney’s office said that Altwies “and her team of investigators and prosecutors will now begin a thorough review of the information and evidence to make a thoughtful, timely decision about whether to bring charges.”

Death on Movie Set

Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins died shortly after being accidentally shot during film rehearsals for the movie “Rust”,  which was being filmed on the outskirts of Santa Fe on Oct. 21, 2021.

Baldwin was pointing a pistol at Hutchins when the gun went off, killing her and wounding the director, Joel Souza.

Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, who died after being shot by Alec Baldwin on the set of his movie "Rust," at a vigil in her honor in Albuquerque, N.M., on Oct. 23, 2021. Kevin Mohatt/Reuters

Baldwin has sued people of the movie crew who were involved in handling and supplying the loaded gun that killed Hutchins.

Meanwhile, script supervisor Mamie Mitchell has sued Baldwin, who was a producer on the film, the production company, and many others involved for assault and negligence.

Hutchins’s family recently settled a lawsuit against producers of “Rust” under an agreement that aims to restart filming with her husband’s involvement as executive producer. The production is set to restart in 2023 with Baldwin and Souza in place.

Alec Baldwin attends the World Premiere of National Geographic Documentary Films' 'The First Wave' at Hamptons International Film Festival in East Hampton, N.Y., on Oct. 7, 2021. Mark Sagliocco/Getty Images for National Geographic

In December 2021, two months after the shooting, Baldwin said the gun went off accidentally and that he did not pull the trigger.

An FBI forensic report released in August 2022 found the weapon could not have fired unless the trigger had been pulled.

New Mexico’s Office of the Medical Investigator determined the shooting was an accident following the completion of an autopsy and a review of law enforcement reports.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.