Alec Baldwin could still be CHARGED in Rust shooting after damming forensic report says the trigger had to be pulled 'sufficiently' in order to fire
Baldwin, 65, has repeatedly claimed he did not pull the trigger on the gun that shot a bullet into Halyna Hutchins, killing her. A new firearms report claims the gun's trigger was pulled
By Sophie Mann
Daily Mail
Aug 15, 2023
Baldwin has repeatedly denied that he pulled the trigger of the gun whose bullet killed Halyna Hutchins. A new report indicates otherwise
Alec Baldwin may still be charged in the Rust shooting that claimed the life of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, suggests a new forensic report that concluded the gun's trigger was 'sufficiently' pulled.
Criminal charges against Baldwin were initially dropped and the movie finished filming earlier this year.
But Baldwin, 65, who has repeatedly denied pulling the trigger, may be called back into court over the killing.
The firearms report, obtained by People Magazine, says: 'the trigger had to be pulled or depressed sufficiently to release the fully cocked or retracted hammer of the evidence revolver.'
Halyna Hutchins, 42 and a mom-of-one, was killed in October of 2021 when a bullet discharged from a gun held by Baldwin and hit her
'This fatal incident was the consequence of the hammer being manually retracted to its fully rearward and cocked position followed, at some point, by the pull or rearward depression of the trigger,' wrote firearms experts Lucien Haag and Mike Haag, who were hired by the State of New Mexico in its case against Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the set's armorer.
In October of 2021, Baldwin was holding the prop Colt .45 revolver that, unbeknownst to him, contained lived rounds, when it discharged and struck Hutchins, 42, and the film's director Joel Souza.
At the time, the Santa Fe County District Attorney's Office charged Baldwin, who also served as the film's producer, with two counts of involuntary manslaughter.
In April, the charges were dismissed without prejudice, though prosecutors noted that Baldwin could still face charges pending an ongoing investigation into the gun.
'The gun and broken sear have been sent to the state’s independent expert for further testing. The charges against Alec Baldwin were dismissed without prejudice because a possible malfunction of the gun significantly effects causation with regard to Baldwin, not with regard to Gutierrez,' wrote the prosecutors in June.
'If it is determined that the gun did not malfunction, charges against Mr. Baldwin will proceed.'
The prosecution's new report in the case against Gutierrez-Reed says the gun was 'found to function properly and in accordance with the operational design of original Colt 1873 single-action revolvers.'
Although the 'full-cock step on the hammer had been severely damaged, the top of the trigger’s sear was broken off and the bolt (cylinder stop) was also broken' because of the on set incident, there were no indications of modifications to the gun.
An August 2022 forensic report from the FBI concluded essentially the same thing: that Baldwin pulled the trigger.
The cast and crew of Rust before the fatal 2021 shooting
Baldwin was initially charged but the case was dropped after evidence suggested the weapon could have been fired without him pulling the trigger
Last week, 26-year-old Gutierrez-Reed pleaded not guilty to the charges against her.
Her attorney, Jason Bowles said his client 'looks forward to her day in court, and to having the conduct of everyone on set fully examined.'
Gutierrez-Reed waived her right to an arraignment and preliminary hearing on Wednesday when she submitted the plea. Her trial is set for December.
Jury selection will begin the day before opening statements.
Gutierrez-Reed´s attorneys previously said that they 'fully expect at the end of this process that Hannah will also be exonerated.'
The state of New Mexico, where the shooting took place, was forced to drop charges against Baldwin after losing several pretrial rulings.
The actor was seen lingering outside the park lot of the Santa Fe County Sheriff's offices after facing questions over the accidental shooting in 2021
He has said in interviews that he was told the gun was safe and that he never pulled the trigger.
'I didn't pull the trigger. I would never point a gun at someone and pull the trigger on them, never,' he said in December 2021.
Santa Fe County prosecutors could still decide to file new counts after sending the gun for further testing.
After a scathing safety review by regulators in New Mexico that detailed ignored complaints and misfires before Hutchins' death in October of 2021, the production company agreed to pay a $100,000 fine.
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