Alec Baldwin could face new charges over fatal Rust shooting

US prosecutors have announced that a grand jury will decide whether American actor, Alec Baldwin, should face new charges over the fatal shooting of cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins, on a film set in 2021.

On the set of Rust in New Mexico Baldwin was holding a Colt .45 when a bullet was shot, killing Hutchins and wounding the film's director, Joel Souza.

The manslaughter charges against the actor were dropped in April as "new facts" demanded "further investigation and forensic analysis." The investigation, however, stayed active.

Prosecutors Kari Morrissey and Jason Lewis stated: "After extensive investigation over the past several months, additional facts have come to light that we believe show Mr Baldwin has criminal culpability in the death of Halyna Hutchins and the shooting of Joel Souza,"

They continued, "We believe the appropriate course of action is to permit a panel of New Mexico citizens to determine from here whether Mr Baldwin should be held over for criminal trial."

It is understood that the case will be presented to a grand jury within the next two months.

Alec Baldwin has repeatedly denied responsibility for the incident. He claims that he did not pull the gun's trigger.

Forensic gun experts have said that he must have applied some sort of pressure to the trigger in order for it to fire.

There is also an ongoing criminal case against the movie's armourer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who provided the guns for use in the making of the movie; she has pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter and evidence-tampering charges.

Baldwin's financial contracts have been taken in for investigation as the information may be relevant – "Mr Baldwin himself benefits financially from keeping production costs low."

The actor's attorney, Luke Nikas, said in a statement: "It is unfortunate that a terrible tragedy has been turned into this misguided prosecution. We will answer any charges in court."