Criminal charges against Alec Baldwin related to the fatal shooting death of Halyna Hutchins were dropped, but the actor could still face future charges related to the incident.
The State of New Mexico hired experts Lucien Haag and Mike Haag in its case against “Rust” armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed. They concluded that the trigger of the Colt .45 revolver must have been pulled “sufficiently” enough to cause the accident.
Baldwin maintains that he never pulled the trigger, but the prop firearm was in his hand when Hutchins was shot and killed. The Santa Fe County District Attorney’s Office charged Baldwin with two counts of involuntary manslaughter in January 2023. The charges were dismissed without prejudice in April.
“Although Alec Baldwin repeatedly denies pulling the trigger, given the tests, findings and observations reported here, the trigger had to be pulled or depressed sufficiently to release the fully cocked or retracted hammer of the evidence revolver,” the firearms report obtained by People said. “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.”
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The report noted that “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” due to the incident. But even so, there was no indication of “any modification to the gun.”
Prosecutors previously stated in June that the “30 Rock” star could still face charges in the future, the outlet noted.
“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 affects causation with regard to Baldwin, not with regard to Gutierrez. If it is determined that the gun did not malfunction, charges against Mr. Baldwin will proceed,” they wrote at the time.
Baldwin has maintained since the incident occurred in 2021 that he did not pull the trigger and claimed the firearm malfunctioned.
“The trigger wasn’t pulled,” he said during an interview in December 2021. “I didn’t pull the trigger. I would never point a gun at someone and pull the trigger on them, never.”