Alec Baldwin appears to have been the only one caught off guard by the involuntary manslaughter charge.

As the Santa Fe County Attorney's Office announced on Thursday, a few hours after the announcement of criminal proceedings against the Hollywood star, a trial had loomed shortly after Baldwin's fatal shooting of camerawoman Halyna Hutchins in the fall of 2021.

"We knew from the beginning of the investigation that this was a criminal matter," Andrea Reeb, the special counsel for the New Mexico Justice Department, told NBC.

The lawyer found unexpectedly strong words for Baldwin, who had just heard about the charges against him at home in Manhattan.

"I am sure he was confident that he would not be charged.

But he's not above the law and he's someone who has committed a crime.” A few months after Hutchins' death, the Golden Globe winner dismissed a criminal case against him as “highly unlikely”.

Baldwin outraged at the decision to hold him legally accountable.

During the shooting of the western "Rust" on October 21, 2021, a shot was fired from Baldwin's film revolver under still unclear circumstances.

Camerawoman Hutchins collapsed, fatally injured.

The director Joel Souza, who stood behind the 42-year-old camera during the rehearsal scene in a church at the Bonanza Creek film ranch, had to be treated in the hospital for a minor gunshot wound.

As Baldwin later testified with the New Mexico sheriff, assistant director Dave Halls gave him the gun with the words "cold gun," a reference to blanks.

As has now become known, Halls is said to have reached an agreement with the prosecutor.

The filmmaker pleaded guilty to negligent handling of a deadly weapon.

Halls, who was notorious for his lack of safety when shooting on the set of "Freedom's Path" and "Into the Dark" before he was shot on the set of "Rust," also agreed to testify at a criminal trial against Baldwin.

In return, the Santa Fe prosecutor's office agreed to give Halls a six-month suspended sentence.

Baldwin, meanwhile, said through his attorney Luka Nikas that he was outraged by the decision of the New Mexico judiciary to hold him legally accountable for Hutchins' death.

"We will tackle the allegations and we will win," said the lawyer.

Baldwin, 64, accused Special Counsel Reeb and District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies of distorting the circumstances of the camerawoman's "tragic death."

The history of the fatal shot remains a mystery.

At least three gun incidents had occurred on set before October 21, 2021, crew members told the Los Angeles Times.

In one of the accidents, a propswoman shot herself in the foot with a blank.

Baldwin, the western's lead actor and co-producer, insisted he didn't pull the trigger.

"The gun would never have fired if someone hadn't pulled the trigger.

As we know from the FBI report, Baldwin's account is not accurate," District Attorney Carmack-Altwies contradicted the actor in an interview with NBC on Thursday.

Perhaps, the lawyer admitted, he didn't pull the trigger consciously.

"It might have been some kind of subconscious decision," Carmack-Altwies said.

In addition to the Hollywood star, armorer Hannah Gutierrez, who was responsible for the revolver and ammunition on the set, is also awaiting charges of negligent homicide.

After Hutchins' death, the twenty-five-year-old had blamed gunman Seth Kenney.

Allegedly, Kenney supplied a mixture of live ammunition and blanks for the shooting, for reasons that are still unclear.

Like Baldwin, Gutierrez faces up to 18 months in prison if convicted.