Alec Baldwin’s lawyer has labelled the reporting of FBI forensic findings into the fatal Rust shooting as ‘misconstrued’.
In October last year cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, 42, was fatally wounded when the gun Baldwin, 64, had been holding on the set of the Western misfired as they ran through a scene. Director Joel Souza was also injured.
Baldwin had believed he was holding a ‘cold gun’ – which is one without live ammunition – and long denied pulling the trigger.
However, according to an FBI forensic report, the gun involved in the shooting, which was a .45 Colt caliber F.lli Pietta single-action revolver, could not have been fired without the trigger being pulled.
Responding to the forensic findings, Baldwin’s attorney, Luke Nikas, reiterated that Baldwin ‘believed the gun was safe’ and said that the gun fired ‘in testing only one time – without having to pull the trigger’.
In a statement to ET on Monday, Nikas said: ‘The critical report is the one from the medical examiner, who concluded that this was a tragic accident. This is the third time the New Mexico authorities have found that Alec Baldwin had no authority or knowledge of the allegedly unsafe conditions on the set, that he was told by the person in charge of safety on the set that the gun was ‘cold,’ and believed the gun was safe.’
Nikas went on: ‘The FBI report is being misconstrued. The gun fired in testing only one time –without having to pull the trigger — when the hammer was pulled back and the gun broke in two different places. The FBI was unable to fire the gun in any prior test, even when pulling the trigger, because it was in such poor condition.’
In a different statement to the outlet, the attorney for Rust armoured, Hannah Gutierrez Reed, said the report stated the gun ‘was in good working order’ and insisted Baldwin would have had to pull the trigger to fire it.
They said in part: ‘The newly released FBI reports show the revolver was in good working order and that Baldwin had to have pulled the trigger to fire the revolver, directly contradicting his prior statements and those of Assistant Director Halls, through his attorney, who also said Baldwin didn’t pull the trigger. The New Mexico Environmental Department’s (OSHA) new complaint highlights serious failures by production on the Rust set which would have prevented this tragic shooting.
‘These new filings demonstrate various production members’ attempts from the very beginning to shirk responsibility and scapegoat Hannah, a 24-year-old armorer, for this tragedy. Hannah was tasked with doing two jobs including props assistant and the very important job as armorer but not given adequate time and training days to do so despite repeated requests or the respect required of the armorer’s position and responsibilities.
‘This included Baldwin in particular who ignored Hannah’s requests to do specific cross draw training which would include never having his finger on the trigger during the cross draw and never pointing the weapon at anyone.’
The FBI’s report, obtained by ABC News, stated that with the hammer in the quarter or half-cocked position, the gun ‘could not be made to fire without a pull of the trigger’ and with the hammer fully cocked, it ‘could not be made to fire without a pull of the trigger while the working internal components were intact and functional’.
The findings also stated, as per reports, that with the hammer de-cocked with a loaded chamber the gun would be able to detonate a primer ‘without a pull of the trigger when the hammer was struck directly,’ which the report stated is normal for this type of revolver.
It is not clear whether the testing was done on the exact gun which fired the fatal shot or another identical gun.
Baldwin has maintained he did not pull the trigger on the gun, claiming it had only been in his hands when it misfired, and previously told George Stephanopoulos: ‘The trigger wasn’t pulled. I didn’t pull the trigger.’
While the investigation into the incident is ongoing, the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator has reportedly classified Hutchins’ death as an accident in a postmortem obtained by ABC News.
The postmortem is said to state: ‘Death was caused by a gunshot wound of the chest. Review of available law enforcement reports showed no compelling demonstration that the firearm was intentionally loaded with live ammunition on set. Based on all available information, including the absence of obvious intent to cause harm or death, the manner of death is best classified as accident.’
MORE : Alec Baldwin’s Twitter deactivated amid Rust lawsuits
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