(NewsNation) — Prosecutors in New Mexico have refiled charges against Alec Baldwin for his role in the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins while filming on the set of “Rust.”
Baldwin was holding the gun that went off during a rehearsal and says he believed it was empty because he was told it was a “cold gun,” indicating there were no live rounds in it.
Steve Wolf, a gun safety expert, says Baldwin could have easily verified that by checking the revolver’s chambers.
“You open this up, you look here, if there’s no ammo there, then it’s a cold gun,” Wolf said Friday on “Banfield,” while demonstrating how to check the gun. “That’s not a lot to ask of somebody. Even an actor could look and see whether there’s an empty hole or whether there’s a round there.”
Baldwin had previously been charged in the shooting, but prosecutors dropped the charges before a trial.
The shooting happened after Baldwin allegedly fired a live weapon during a rehearsal on set instead of a prop weapon firing blanks.
Baldwin was an actor and producer on the film and was rehearsing a scene that involved drawing a weapon and pointing it toward the camera. Hutchins and director Joel Souza were watching from behind a monitor. The single round went through Hutchins, fatally wounding her, and into Souza, who was injured in the shoulder.
Baldwin claimed the gun discharged when he took it out of the holster and denied firing it, while an FBI report stated it could only have fired if the trigger had been pulled.
Special prosecutors revived the case after receiving a new analysis of the gun that was used, and a grand jury returned an indictment Friday on an involuntary manslaughter charge.
Defense attorneys for Baldwin indicated they’ll fight the charge.
The indictment provides prosecutors with two alternative standards for pursuing an involuntary manslaughter charge against Baldwin in the death of Hutchins. One would be based on negligent use of a firearm, and the other alleges felony misconduct “with the total disregard or indifference for the safety of others.”
“It’s a correct charge for what happened,” Wolf said. “Due care when you’re handling a firearm on set means that somebody checks to make sure there’s nothing inside there. That’s not an unreasonable claim. … A minimum bar for safety was was not reached.”
There are reports “Rust” was dealing with crew disputes as well as allegations that firearms safety practices were not being followed properly on set, including failing to properly check and clear weapons before they were used in rehearsal or filming.
Prosecutors have also charged Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the weapons supervisor on set. She has pleaded not guilty, and her trial is scheduled to begin in February.
An earlier FBI report on the agency’s analysis of the gun found that, as is common with firearms of that design, it could go off without pulling the trigger if force was applied to an uncocked hammer, such as by dropping the weapon.
The only way the testers could get it to fire was by striking the gun with a mallet while the hammer was down and resting on the cartridge, or by pulling the trigger while it was fully cocked. The gun eventually broke during testing.
NewsNation digital producer Stephanie Whiteside and The Associated Press contributed to this report.