Independent testing has revealed what happened in the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the film “Rust” in October 2021. According to a report filed in court, testing shows the trigger had to be pulled and the gun fired normally—raising the possibility of charges being refiled against actor Alec Baldwin.
The report was filed in defense of the film’s armorer, Hannah Gutierrez Reed, who is charged with tampering with the gun used in the shooting as well as two counts of involuntary manslaughter. Prosecutors have said that should new evidence show no malfunction, charges could be refiled against Baldwin.
The new examiners in New Mexico used a replacement hammer, trigger/sear, and bolt—not the gun’s original components—to show the fatal incident was the consequence of the hammer being manually retracted to its fully rearward and cocked position, followed by the pull or rearward depression of the trigger.
Sadly, Baldwin has maintained he pulled back the gun’s hammer as far as he could without cocking the gun and released the hammer, without pulling the trigger. Nonetheless, this crucial new evidence reveals Baldwin may have tried to throw the armorer under the bus.
“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,” with “a final charging decision … within the next sixty days,” prosecutors said in a June court filing.
The new report says, “If the hammer had not been fully retracted to the rear and were to slip from the handler’s thumb without the trigger depressed, the half cock or quarter cock notches in the hammer should have prevented the firing pin from reaching any cartridge in the firing chamber.”
“From an examination of the fired cartridge case and the operationally restored evidence revolver, 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 report said.
