According to an FBI forensic report obtained by ABC News on Friday, the gun used in the fatal shooting on the set of the “Rust” movie could not have been fired without pulling the trigger.
Actor Alec Baldwin photographed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the western he produced and starred in last year. The actor believed he was wielding a “cold weapon” – one with no live ammunition – when she went off and a live bullet caught Hutchins, killing her. The film’s director, Joel Souza, was also injured during filming.
Accidental discharge testing indicated that the firearm used in the shootout — a .45 Colt (.45 Long Colt) caliber F.lli Pietta single-action revolver — could not have been fired without the trigger being pulled, eh the FBI report shows.
With the hammer in the quarter and half-cock positions, the gun “could not be made to fire without a trigger”, the report said.
With the hammer fully cocked, the gun “could not be made to fire without a trigger so long as the working internal components were intact and functional,” the report said.
The Bonanza Creek Ranch in Santa Fe, NM on October 23, 2021.
Jae C. Hong/AP, FILE
With the hammer decocked on a loaded chamber, the gun could fire a primer “without pulling the trigger if the hammer was hit directly,” which is normal for this type of revolver, the report said.
In an interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos in December, Baldwin said he did not pull the gun’s trigger.
“The trigger wasn’t pulled,” he said. “I didn’t pull the trigger.”
ABC News reached out to representatives for Baldwin and Hannah Gutierrez Reed, who was in charge of all the guns on the Rust set, but have yet to receive a response.
Actor Alec Baldwin attends the 2019 PEN America Literary Gala in New York on May 21, 2019.
Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, FILE
The forensic report is part of a criminal investigation into the on-set shooting. The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office, which is leading the homicide investigation, received the report and other FBI documents related to the shooting earlier this month, the sheriff’s office said Thursday.
The documents were reviewed by the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator, which ruled Hutchins’ death an accident, according to a post-mortem report obtained by ABC News.
“Death was caused by a gunshot wound to the chest. A review of available law enforcement reports found no convincing evidence that the firearm on set was intentionally loaded with live ammunition,” the report said. “Based on all available information, including a lack of apparent intent to cause harm or death, the mode of death is best classified as accidental.”
The local prosecutor’s office has not yet made any prosecution decisions in the case. Detectives are awaiting phone records from Baldwin as part of their investigation, the sheriff’s office said Thursday.