Alec Baldwin will not be charged for the shooting of Rust” director Joel Souza.
Shortly after it was reported that the actor would face an involuntary manslaughter charge for the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, TMZ learned Baldwin is off the hook for shooting Joel Souza.
According to Santa Fe District Attorney’s Office, no crime was committed in Souza’s incident, despite him being hit by the same bullet that killed Hutchins.
To add, the D.A. office says the only way to describe Souza’s incident is “unintentional battery.” However, no such crime exists since a battery charge is associated with the act of intent, which the office says was not the case.
Since Thursday, the D.A. has been receiving backlash for charging Baldwin with manslaughter. Actor Douglas Steward, who was apart in the film, sided with Baldwin and said actors never check the gun chambers on set. In fact, he added that the actors are not allowed to do so which is why they heavily rely on experts to monitor the weapons.
In addition, the D.A. faced more criticism for charging Baldwin because of his executive producer title in the film. Nevertheless, Steward says the title is just a name and a way for Baldwin to get his profits.
Baldwin will be formally charged for Hutchins’ death later on this month.
