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The FBI concluded that Alec Baldwin pulled the trigger in the tragic death of Halyna Hutchins on the movie set of the film “Rust”. The FBI conducted an accidental discharge test and determined that the gun “could not be made to fire without a pull of the trigger.”
This report comes 10 months after the fatal shooting of Hutchins. Baldwin claims that when he was handling the gun he didn’t know it had live ammunition when it went off, thus killing Hutchins and injuring one of the film’s directors.
Baldwin told George Stephanopoulos in December that he didn’t pull the trigger. “The trigger wasn’t pulled,” he said, “I didn’t pull the trigger.” But according to the FBI Alec did indeed pull the trigger.
ABC News saw the report that said:
“Accidental discharge testing determined that the firearm used in the shooting — a .45 Colt (.45 Long Colt) caliber F.lli Pietta single-action revolver — could not have fired without the trigger being pulled, the FBI report shows.”
“With the hammer in the quarter- and half-cock positions, the gun “could not be made to fire without a pull of the trigger,” the report stated.
“With the hammer fully cocked, the gun “could not be made to fire without a pull of the trigger while the working internal components were intact and functional,” the report stated.
“With the hammer de-cocked on a loaded chamber, the gun was able to detonate a primer “without a pull of the trigger when the hammer was struck directly,” which is normal for this type of revolver, the report stated.
“With the hammer de-cocked on a loaded chamber, the gun was able to detonate a primer “without a pull of the trigger when the hammer was struck directly,” which is normal for this type of revolver,” ABC reported.
Baldwin and the Rust production crew are facing several lawsuits over the shooting, including one from Hutchins’s family that alleges emotional and physical harm from the incident.
Baldwin’s lawyers attempted to dismiss the case, noting that New Mexico labor law should handle the matter, rather than the Los Angeles County Superior Court.
The film’s armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed also filed a suit against the ammunition supplier in January, alleging the company had created “dangerous conditions” on set due to mishandling the live rounds.
The Washington Examiner reported:
The actor has attempted to distance himself from the shooting in recent months, telling ABC News in an interview it was the worst thing that had ever happened to him. Law enforcement officials are investigating the incident, waiting on phone records from Baldwin.
The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office said Baldwin did not give his phone to authorities when they issued a warrant on Dec. 16, leading the office to reach out to the Santa Fe District Attorney’s Office. On Dec. 20, the sheriff’s office was advised that the district attorney’s office was in negotiations with Baldwin’s attorney “to obtain consent to retrieve the phone and its contents.”
New Mexico’s Office of Medical Investigator ruled that the shooting death was an accident. Prosecutors haven’t determined yet it any charges should be filed in the case, as they review the latest reports.
