Baldwin had the gun while rehearsing a scene for the western film at Bonanza Creek Ranch in New Mexico in October when a shot was fired, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza. In December, Baldwin told ABC News that he never pulled the trigger on the gun that shot Hutchins. “The trigger didn’t pull. I didn’t pull the trigger,” Baldwin said.
Baldwin, in that interview, also described cocking the gun while discussing the scene with Hutchins. “Then I said, ‘Now, in this scene, I’m going to the gun.’ And I said, ‘Do you want to see this?’ And she said, ‘Yeah.’ So I pick up the gun and start cocking it. Don’t pull the trigger.”
Cocking a revolver pistol like the one used on the movie set involves pulling the hammer of the gun back to prepare the gun to fire. When the weapon’s hammer is released forward with sufficient force, such as when the trigger is pulled, it strikes the primer of a round causing the weapon to fire.
The FBI’s forensic report was released to the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office as part of the ongoing investigation into the fatal shooting on set.
The report found that the weapon, a .45 Colt (.45 Long Colt) caliber F.lli Pietta single-action revolver, “could not be fired without pulling the trigger” with the hammer depressed at ¼ and ½ . positions He also found that when the gun was fully cocked “it could not be fired without pulling the trigger while the internal working components were intact and functional.”
FBI examiners noted an internal malfunction of the weapon during testing in the fully cocked position, with the report noting that “parts of the catch and cylinder stop fractured while the hammer was struck “.
The FBI report noted the limitations of forensic evidence, saying it “may not be possible to recreate or duplicate all of the circumstances that led to the discharge of a firearm without pulling the trigger.”
CNN has reached out to a representative for Baldwin for comment.
An attorney representing Hannah Gutierrez Reed, who served as a gunsmith and prop assistant on the film, said the forensic report indicated that “Baldwin must have pulled the trigger to fire the revolver” and that the 24-year-old was being used as a “scapegoat”.
Part of the Santa Fe County police investigation centers on how live ammunition could have gotten onto the movie set. In April, Rust Movie Productions, LLC was fined nearly $137,000 and cited for having a culture of “clear disregard for employee safety.” “on set, according to a report from the New Mexico Department of the Environment’s Office of Occupational Safety and Health.