Gun in fatal ‘Rust’ set shooting could not have fired without trigger pull, says FBI report

nme.com:

the fatal shooting that occurred on the set of the western Rust, contradicting a statement made by lead actor and producer Alec Baldwin.In the report, as noted by Deadline via ABC-TV, the gun used in the shooting – a .45 caliber F.lli Pietta revolver – was put through the FBI’s accidental discharge testing.

The tests included putting the hammer of the gun in both the half-cock and quarter-cock positions, and the hammer of the gun being “struck directly”.

In doing so, the Bureau determined that the gun “could not be made to fire without a pull of the trigger” – a “normal response” for this type of gun.The report goes against claims made by Baldwin last December, when in an interview with ABC News‘ George Stephanopoulos, the actor said that “the trigger wasn’t pulled” – in spite of the gun going off in Baldwin’s hand and subsequently killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.“I didn’t pull the trigger,” Baldwin said at the time. “I would never point a gun at anyone and pull a trigger at them.

Never.”Baldwin has been at the centre of major public scrutiny in the wake of the tragedy, including accusations of non-compliance with the subsequent police investigation, and a wrongful death lawsuit filed by Hutchins’ family.