Could Alec Baldwin Face Charges Over 'Rust' Shooting? Here's What a Legal Expert Says

A legal expert is weighing in on the tragic shooting of Halyna Hutchins, which happened on the set of Rust last week when Alec Baldwin was using a prop gun and pulled the trigger.

David Ring, a Los Angeles trial attorney, spoke with People about if Alec could face criminal charges for being the one to pull the trigger of the gun.

Click inside to read what the legal expert said…

“Based on what we know now, it doesn’t seem like Alec Baldwin is the focus of any criminal case because he was handed a gun and he was told it was a cold gun, meaning that someone has looked at it and [found] there’s no ammunition in it,” David told People. “And I think he has the right to rely upon that, to assume that it also is cold.”

“There’s certainly a chance that the authorities say this was such a dangerous operation that whoever’s in charge, including the producer, are somehow criminally liable,” he added. “That’s a much more difficult case to prove. We’re talking about intent.”

“He’s absolutely going to get named in any wrongful death lawsuit. You just have to show that there was negligence that led to the shooting, and it’s a much lower standard than a criminal case,” he added. “Obviously there’s negligence [in this case] and it just depends on who was negligent. But ultimately the production company is in charge. It happened on their watch.”

He then added, “Anyone who should have been in charge is going to get named in a wrongful death lawsuit.”

Earlier today, the tragic details of where Alec was pointing the gun and how it ended up loaded were revealed.