The sad, tragic saga of the fatal “Rust” shooting continues, with a new forensic report showing that the gun that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchin could only fire if the trigger was pulled. This could lead to star Alec Baldwin, who held the gun when it discharged, to be recharged with manslaughter.
Baldwin was first charged with manslaughter back in 2021 for his handling of the Colt .45 that killed Hutchin and injured director Joel Souza on the set of “Rust” outside of Santa Fe, New Mexico. The charge was later dropped when Baldwin’s defense made mention that the gun had been modified for the production, calling into question whether it could have been fired without the trigger being pulled.
The special prosecutors assigned to the case, Kari Morrissey and Jason Lewis, went forward and commissioned a new forensic examination of the gun. The report was submitted to them earlier this month and released in a public court filing on Tuesday, as first reported by the Los Angeles Times. Previously, the prosecutors had said that if the gun was found to be working properly then Baldwin would be charged again, although as of now he has not been charged and they haven’t declared whether he would be.
“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,” the forensics report read. “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.”
Hannah Gutierrez Reed, the film’s armorer, is facing involuntary manslaughter and evidence tampering charges and is expected to go to trial in December.
TheWrap has reached out to the Santa Fe sheriff’s office and Baldwin’s lawyer for comment.
