THE CARDINAL RULE OF GUN SAFETY: NEVER POINT A GUN AT ANYONE UNLESS YOU INTEND TO SHOOT THEM

Weapons expert calls Alec Baldwin 'full of shit' for ‘I didn't pull the trigger’ remark

 

By Divya Kishore  

 

meaww

December 4, 2021

 

 

Alec Baldwin has been slammed for saying he 'didn't pull the trigger' that killed Halyna Hutchins

 

A weapons expert has blasted Alec Baldwin after he claimed that he did not pull the trigger of the gun that killed Halyna Hutchins and injured director Joel Souza on the sets of 'Rust'. Bill Davis, a retired cop who has worked on hundreds of movies and TV sets, told The Sun, "Guns never just fire themselves - especially the single-action .45 revolver he was using at the time. Simply put, his excuse is bullshit.”

When Davis was asked if it is possible for a gun to act up and bullets getting fired without the trigger being pulled, he replied, “It doesn't. [It's] uncommon to the max!” before saying that the Oscar-nominated star was “full of shit.”

 

Alec Baldwin was wielding a vintage Colt pistol, like the one pictured above, when it accidentally fired

 

Firearms reporter Stephen Gutowski has also expressed his views on the whole incident that happened on the movie set on October 21, and what Baldwin said in his first interview to ABC 20/20 on Thursday, December 2. He wrote for TheReload.com that the 63-year-old actor’s claims seem “far-fetched” because it's “exceedingly rare for a gun to fire without the trigger being depressed.” 

Gutowski noted: “Modern firearms, even replicas of antique guns, have safeties specifically designed to prevent them from firing without the trigger being pulled. It only really happens when the gun’s firing mechanism is damaged, or there is a significant design flaw. In Baldwin’s case, though, the claim is at least somewhat more believable. That’s because the gun involved is more prone to firing without the trigger being pulled. And, even though it’s a modern replica of an antique design, it’s possible it did not include modern safety devices.”

He also took to Twitter, where he shared, “There are two scenarios I can think of where that could happen, but both seem improbable. The first is the hammer being pulled back far enough to set off a round but not far enough to catch a sear. That's a real hard sell. The next scenario is some sort of mechanical issue with the gun itself. Something that kept the sears from engaging the hammer. But, that should've been pretty easy to spot by anyone handling the gun. It would be clear it was broken,” before adding, “It's much more likely the trigger was depressed while Baldwin was manipulating the hammer. Or, he just pulled the trigger after the hammer was cocked. That is the most plausible explanation in all of this.”

Meanwhile, during his appearance on ABC, Baldwin shared with George Stephanopoulos what happened on the fateful day. He said, “Everything was at her direction. This was a marking rehearsal. And [Hutchins] says to me, ‘Hold the gun lower. Go to your right. Okay, right there. All right, do that. Now show it a little bit lower.’ And she's getting me to position the gun.”

The ‘BEETLEJUICE’ actor then mentioned that he ended up pointing the gun right below the cinematographer’s armpit, which she “wants me to hold [it]”. He also revealed that his job was to cock the firearm and not fire it. “The trigger wasn't pulled. I didn't pull the trigger. I cock the gun. I go, ‘Can you see that? Can you see that? Can you see that? And then I let go of the hammer of the gun, and the gun goes off. I let go of the hammer of the gun, the gun goes off,” Baldwin told Stephanopoulos.

When asked if he ever fired the gun, the actor answered: “No, no, no, no, no. I would never point a gun at anyone and pull a trigger at them.” Baldwin also recalled the time when Hutchins fell down. He said, “I thought to myself, ‘Did she faint?’ The notion that there was a live round in that gun did not dawn on me till probably 45 minutes to an hour later.”