File video above: Legal analysis on charges filed against Alec Baldwin on 'Rust' movie set shootingProsecutors in the "Rust" fatal shooting case plan to file a notice to dismiss involuntary manslaughter charges against Alec Baldwin, his attorney, Luke Nikas, tells CNN.CNN has contacted the special prosecutor in the Santa Fe, New Mexico case for comment.Halyna Hutchins, the film's cinematographer, was struck and killed by a live round of ammunition fired from a prop gun being held by Baldwin while rehearsing a scene on the set of "Rust" in 2021. Baldwin has pleaded not guilty.Director Joel Souza was also shot and injured.Baldwin and "Rust" armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed were both charged with involuntary manslaughter in January. Baldwin pleaded not guilty. An attorney for Gutierrez Reed has previously said she will plead not guilty and has maintained her innocence. A preliminary hearing in her case is set for May 3.Prosecutors already removed a firearm enhancement charge against Baldwin and Gutierrez Reed, reducing a potential prison sentence from 5 years to a maximum of 18 months."We are pleased with the decision to dismiss the case against Alec Baldwin and encourage a proper investigation into the facts and circumstances of this tragic accident," Baldwin's attorneys Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro told CNN.Thursday's development comes one month after the special prosecutor in the case, Andrea Reeb, stepped down, following a motion by Baldwin's attorney to have Reeb disqualified as "unconstitutional" under New Mexico law due to her elected position in the New Mexico House of Representatives. Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies then also stepped away from the case and appointed long-time New Mexico attorneys Kari Morrissey and Jason Lewis to serve as special prosecutors.Earlier this year, "Rust" assistant director Dave Halls and prosecutors reached a plea agreement "for the charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon." At the time, prosecutors said the terms of that deal include six months of probation and a suspended sentence.As part of a wrongful death settlement between Matthew Hutchins, the widower of Halyna Hutchins, Baldwin and "Rust" producers, production on the film has resumed. Matthew Hutchins is now serving as an executive producer on the project.

Discussions of workplace safety are now front and center after the fatal 'Rust' movie set shooting at Bonanza Creek Ranch.On Oct. 21, Santa Fe County deputies said Alec Baldwin, the actor and co-producer of the film, discharged a prop gun that misfired. The weapon fatally wounded cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injured director Joel Souza. Questions also remain, like how live rounds showed up on the set. The lawyer for the film's armorer, 24-year-old Hannah Gutierrez, released a statement Friday. Jason Bowles said Gutierrez had no idea where the live rounds came from and added that the guns were locked up every night.The incident has been a big concern for many people, including Baldwin. On Saturday, Baldwin briefly spoke with reporters in Vermont, where he and his family have been laying low since the shooting."An ongoing effort to limit the use of firearms on film sets is something I’m extremely interested in," Baldwin said. The actor added safety measures are needed when it comes to guns on movie sets."We have to realize that when it does go wrong, and it’s this horrible, catastrophic thing, some new measures have to take place," Baldwin said. "Whatever other people decide is the best way to go in terms of protecting people’s safety on film sets."New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said the state may take action to address those concerns. Her office provided the following statement to sister station KOAT: "Workplace safety in any and every industry in New Mexico is absolutely paramount. A workplace death is never acceptable and must compel an analysis of what can and should be done better. My full expectation is that the film and television industry will, at the conclusion of the investigation into this tragic incident and once all the facts are in hand, bring forward comprehensive new safety protocols to ensure this kind of incident never, ever happens again. If that sort of comprehensive new approach does not materialize, the state of New Mexico will take immediate action, throughout whatever means are available to us, to ensure the safety of all personnel on all film and television sets here in our state. This industry is important to us economically and to so many workers throughout New Mexico, and I look forward to a full accounting of how this could have possibly happened, and we will determine our next steps from there."The investigation is still ongoing and no charges have been filed. Production on the movie 'Rust' has since halted.

A camera operator told authorities that Alec Baldwin had been careful with weapons on the set of the film "Rust" before the actor shot and killed a cinematographer with a gun he'd been told was safe to use, court records released Sunday show.Cameraman Reid Russell told a detective that Baldwin was rehearsing a scene Thursday in which he was set to draw his gun while sitting in a church pew. The camera wasn't rolling when the gun went off, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, Russell told a detective according to a search warrant affidavit.Authorities said Friday that the assistant director, Dave Halls, had handed the weapon to Baldwin and announced "cold gun," indicating it was safe to use. When asked about how Baldwin treated firearms on the set, Russell said the actor was very careful, citing an instance when Baldwin made sure a child actor was not near him when a gun was being discharged.The affidavit released Sunday also includes statements by director Joel Souza, who was standing behind Hutchins and was also wounded.It detailed the moments before the shooting and shows that there was turmoil on the set the day of the shooting. Several members of the camera crew walked off the production in a dispute over payment and lodging, Russell said, so a new crew had to be hired. He said he was unsure whether the weapon was checked before it was handed to Baldwin.Souza said that he was focused on how the scene would appear on camera. He said he recalled hearing the phrase "cold gun" being used before the shooting.He said the scene they were shooting did not call for the use of live rounds.Souza described the gunshot as sounding like a whip and a loud pop.On Sunday, a crew member who worked with Halls on another project said she had raised safety concerns about him in 2019.Maggie Goll, a prop maker and licensed pyrotechnician, said in a statement that she filed an internal complaint with the executive producers of Hulu's "Into the Dark" series in 2019 over concerns about Halls' behavior on set. Goll said in a phone interview Sunday that Halls disregarded safety protocols for weapons and pyrotechnics and tried to continue filming after the supervising pyrotechnician lost consciousness on set.Halls has not returned phone calls and email messages seeking comment.The fatal shooting and previous experiences point to larger safety issues that need to be addressed, Goll said, adding that crew member safety and wellbeing are top issues in ongoing contract negotiations between a union that represents film and TV workers and a major producers' group."This situation is not about Dave Halls. ... It's in no way one person's fault," she said. "It's a bigger conversation about safety on set and what we are trying to achieve with that culture."The film's chief electrician Serge Svetnoy blamed producers for Hutchins' death in an emotional Facebook post on Sunday. Svetnoy said he had worked with Hutchins on multiple films and faulted "negligence and unprofessionalism" among those handling weapons on the set. He said producers hired an inexperienced armorer.Hollywood professionals say they're baffled by the circumstances and production crews have quickly stepped up safety measures.Jeffrey Wright, who has worked on projects including the James Bond franchise and the upcoming movie "The Batman," was acting with a weapon on the set of "Westworld" when news broke of the shooting Thursday at a New Mexico ranch. "We were all pretty shocked. And it informed what we did from that moment on," he said in an interview Sunday at the Newport Beach Film Festival."I don't recall ever being handed a weapon that was not cleared in front of me — meaning chamber open, barrel shown to me, light flashed inside the barrel to make sure that it's cleared," Wright said. "Clearly, that was a mismanaged set."Actor Ray Liotta agreed with Wright that the checks on firearms are usually extensive."They always — that I know of — they check it so you can see," Liotta said. "They give it to the person you're pointing the gun at, they do it to the producer, they show whoever is there that it doesn't work."A vigil for Hutchins was held Sunday in Southern California, where attendees exchanged tearful hugs and speakers echoed calls for heightened safety standards.Baldwin, who is known for his roles in "30 Rock" and "The Hunt for Red October" and his impression of former President Donald Trump on "Saturday Night Live," has described the killing as a "tragic accident."