Alec Baldwin Could Face Charges After New Forensic Report

Actor Alec Baldwin attends the 2019 PEN America Literary Gala In New York on May 21, 2019. (Evan Agostini/Invision/AP Photo)

A forensic report issued this week in the 2021 death of “Rust” cinematographer Halyna Hutchins disputed Alec Baldwin’s longstanding claims that he didn’t pull the trigger.

Mr. Baldwin could potentially face a new set of manslaughter charges after prosecutors dismissed an involuntary manslaughter charge in April because of doubts about whether the prop gun was working.

“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,” a report compiled by Forensic Science Services of Arizona stated.

“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,” the report stated, according to multiple sources.

The Forensic Science Services report stated that the “only conceivable alternative to the foregoing would be a situation in which the trigger was already pulled or held rearward while retracting the hammer to its full cock position. Although unlikely and totally contrary to the normal operation of these single action revolvers, such improper handling, would result in the discharge of a live cartridge.”

“If these features were somehow bypassed, a conspicuously off-center firing pin impression would result,” it stated.

The forensic report was commissioned by special prosecutors Kari Morrissey and Jason Lewis, who are bringing a case against “Rust” armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who’s facing charges of involuntary manslaughter and evidence tampering, and is set to go to trial in December.

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Since the incident, Mr. Baldwin has maintained that he pulled the gun’s hammer without cocking the gun and released the hammer. However, he said that he never pulled the trigger, which was immediately disputed by gun experts at the time.

Involuntary manslaughter charges against Mr. Baldwin that were brought in January were dismissed months later, although special prosecutors said that the charges could be refiled.

“Consequently, we cannot proceed under the current time constraints and on the facts and evidence turned over by law enforcement in its existing form. We therefore will be dismissing the involuntary manslaughter charges against Mr. Baldwin to conduct further investigation,” prosecutors said in a statement in April. “This decision does not absolve Mr. Baldwin of criminal culpability and charges may be refiled. Our follow-up investigation will remain active and ongoing.”

The movie set of "Rust" at Bonanza Creek Ranch in Santa Fe, N.M., on Oct. 23, 2021. (Jae C. Hong/AP Photo)

Mr. Baldwin hasn’t been charged in connection with the latest report, but Ms. Morrissey told Variety magazine that a formal announcement is expected soon. “I expect that decision to be forthcoming,” she said.

After the charges were dropped against the 65-year-old actor, his attorneys praised the decision. He pleaded not guilty to the charges.

“We are pleased with the decision to dismiss the case against Alec Baldwin, and we encourage a proper investigation into the facts and circumstances of this tragic accident,” Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro, attorneys for Mr. Baldwin, said in a statement at the time.

Meanwhile, Ms. Gutierrez-Reed’s attorneys said at the time that “the truth about what happened will come out and the questions that we have long sought answers for will be answered.”

Other Details

Weeks after the shooting, Mr. Baldwin gave an interview to ABC News in December 2021 in which he asserted that he “didn’t pull the trigger,” and said: “I would never point a gun at anyone and pull the trigger at them. Never.”

Responding to a question about how a live round ended up in the gun, he answered: “I have no idea. Someone put a live bullet in a gun, a bullet that wasn’t even supposed to be on the property.”

Authorities haven’t yet determined how live ammunition ended up on the set of “Rust,” for which Mr. Baldwin serves as the executive producer.

An earlier FBI forensic report found that the weapon couldn’t have fired unless the trigger was pulled.

In addition, after a scathing safety review by regulators in New Mexico that detailed ignored complaints and misfires before Hutchins’s death in October 2021, the production company agreed to pay a $100,000 fine.

In March, David Halls, safety coordinator and assistant director for “Rust,” pleaded no contest to a conviction for unsafe handling of a firearm and received a suspended sentence of six months of probation. He agreed to cooperate with further inquiries into the fatal shooting.

Mr. Baldwin has worked little since the shooting but has stayed active on social media, making Instagram videos and posting podcast interviews and pictures of his wife and seven children.

When the manslaughter charges were announced in January, Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies said that the case was about equal justice under the law and accountability in Hutchins’s death, regardless of the fame or fortune of those involved. She said that the Ukrainian-born cinematographer’s death was tragic—and preventable.

A new legal team took over prosecution of Mr. Baldwin and Ms. Gutierrez-Reed in late March after the original special prosecutor appointed in the case resigned.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.