A sign pointing to Bonanza Creek Ranch where Rust was filmed. Photo: PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images
The FBI has now completed its forensic analysis of the Rust shooting that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounded director Joel Souza last year, the LA Times reports. Although the contents of the FBI report have not been released to the public, it is still considered an important milestone in the investigation into Hutchins’ death on the set of the low-budget western as the New Mexico Police Department waited to continue their investigation own process until the FBI’s tests were completed.
The crux of the investigation will, of course, be who the police will be charging against in the incident – which occurred on October 21, 2021 and saw a gun in actor Alec Baldwin’s hand being fired while aimed at Hutchins , with a live cartridge that had somehow found its way to the film’s set, shot, killing and wounding Souza. Baldwin, also the film’s producer, has denied any responsibility for the accident, instead pushing for investigations into how the live round made its way to the set. Baldwin has reportedly been cooperating with the New Mexico Police Department, including providing his cellphone for investigations.
As we near the one-year anniversary of Hutchins’ death, the Rust legal case seems no less grim than the confusing aftermath of the event itself. Several civil lawsuits surround the case, several by production crew members, accusing supervisors of negligence; Gunsmith Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who was responsible for firearms on the film’s set, is also suing the company that provided her with the ammunition, and the Hutchins family is suing Baldwin, Gutierrez-Reed and several others involved in the production involved wrongful death suit.
Perhaps the hope is that the FBI analysis could clarify some of the questions surrounding Hutchins’ death – and provide a better understanding of how the events leading up to it were set in motion.