An FBI forensic report has reportedly concluded that the revolver that was used during the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the movie “Rust” could not have been fired without pulling the trigger.
The report comes in response to actor Alec Baldwin shooting Hutchins on the movie set after he claims that he believed he was handling a firearm that was not loaded with live ammunition.
The FBI report obtained by ABC News says that the .45 Colt revolver “could not be made to fire without a pull of the trigger” while in a quarter-cocked position, a half-cocked position, and a fully-cocked position.
If the hammer on the revolver was in the de-cocked position, the firearm could discharge a round by striking the hammer, which is a standard way that a revolver operates.
In an ABC News interview late last year with George Stephanopoulos, Baldwin said that he pulled “the hammer as far back as I could without cocking” it and then he “let go of the hammer” and “bang, the gun goes off.”
Baldwin said in the interview that “the trigger wasn’t pulled,” “I didn’t pull the trigger,” “I would never point a gun at anyone and pull the trigger at them,” and “someone put a live bullet in a gun, a bullet that wasn’t even supposed to be on the property.”
The Washington Post published a fact-check article after the interview that quoted various firearm experts who expressed skepticism over Baldwin’s claims.
Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwie effectively said in a statement earlier this month that nothing was being ruled out in terms of what prosecutors could do.
“Once the First Judicial District Attorney’s Office (‘FJDA’) receives the completed investigation from the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office (‘SFSO’), the FJDA will begin the screening process and any necessary follow-up investigation,” she said in a statement. “To date, my office has received portions of the Rust investigation from SFSO but is still awaiting the balance of supplemental reports including, but not limited to, the following: FBI firearm and tool mark analyses, forensic testing on the firearm itself, the forensic download from Suffolk County PD of Mr. Baldwin’s phone, and the pathology report from the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator.”
“Once SFSO receives those—and any other outstanding items—and completes its supplemental reports, the screening process will begin, and my team and I will make a charging decision,” she continued. “To expedite the FJDA review process, I have added retired Ninth Judicial District Attorney, Andrea Reeb to the team, as a special prosecutor for this case. To remain transparent to the local and national community, the FJDA will proactively disseminate information as it becomes available.”