According to a recent FBI study, Alec Baldwin’s gunfire on the Rust set killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, despite the actor’s prior denials.
The.45 Long Colt caliber F.lli Pietta single-action revolver used in the movie, according to the FBI investigation’s report (obtained by ABC news, couldn’t have been shot with the trigger reaction). The FBI’s aforementioned forensic report appears to have come to a conclusion following “accidental discharge testing” with the F.lli Pietta gun.
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What did the FBI’s forensic investigation of the filming of the Rust movie reveal?
The FBI report appears to have looked into a variety of scenarios involving the placement of the revolver’s hammer. According to ABC News, the gun could only have fired the bullet at “quarter and half-cock positions” with a pull of the trigger.
The gun “could not be made to fire without a pull of the trigger when the working internal components were intact and functional” when the hammer was fully cocked.
The report added that when the hammer was de-cocked, the rifle was still capable of detonating the priming. In this instance, the hammer was struck directly.
Alec Baldwin is alleged to have fired the prop revolver that killed Halyna Hutchins on the Rust set, however the actor’s attorneys seem to dispute this assertion.
Luke Nikas, Baldwin’s attorney, claimed that the FBI report had been “misconstructed.” He stated:
“They are misinterpreting the FBI study. When the hammer was drawn back during testing, the gun only ever fired once without the need to pull the trigger, and it broke in two distinct locations. In any prior test, the FBI was unable to fire the gun, even when pushing the trigger, due to its terrible state.”
The lawyer continued by saying:
The New Mexico authorities have discovered, “This is the third time, that Alec Baldwin had no authority or knowledge of the allegedly unsafe conditions on the set, that he was assured by the person in charge of safety on the set that the gun was “cold,” and believed the rifle was safe.”
Previous statements made by Alec Baldwin regarding not firing the gun on Rust
Early in December 2021, actor Alec Baldwin, 64, spoke out about the tragic incident that occurred on the Rust set. He admitted to George Stephanopoulos of ABC that he did not fire the shot. Baldwin asserted:
“Well, no one fired the trigger. I refrained from firing the gun. Never in a million years would I aim a gun at someone and pull the trigger. Never.”
Baldwin’s descriptions of the sad occurrence on October 21, 2021, which took the life of Rust cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, appear to be at odds with the findings of the most recent FBI report.
Baldwin might not be mistaken about not pressing the trigger, though, as there is no proof that the FBI used the same pistol for the investigation testing as was utilized on the Rust movie set. It is impossible to tell whether the genuine gun malfunctioned on set whether the revolver the FBI used was just a replica of the one that killed Hutchins.