Many movie fans will sadly remember the incident that occurred on the set of the western film Rust in 2021. Actor Alec Baldwin, while using a prop revolver, discharged a single shot while practicing. This shot wound up injuring director Joel Souza and killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. Alec Baldwin immediately claimed that the discharge was accidental, although an investigation into the matter is still being held. Now a forensic report from the FBI has revealed new details regarding Alec Baldwin and the events of the shooting.
The FBI report, which was obtained via ABC News, included the results of an accidental discharge test of the revolver used by Alec Baldwin. And, according to their test, the gun actually could not have fired unless the trigger was pulled. As they specifically wrote, it “could not be made to fire without a pull of the trigger while the working internal components were intact and functional.” This would seem to suggest that Alec Baldwin pulled the trigger on the gun.
With that said, he has yet to respond to the matter. Furthermore, neither does armorer Hannah Guiterrez-Reed who was also involved with the investigations. It’s also worth mentioning that assistant director Dave Halls has been previously listed as a person of interest. As such, it’ll be interesting to see what responses they may have now that the report claims the gun’s trigger must have been pulled.
The shooting on the set of Rust was quite shocking; and many drew parallels with another similar incident which occurred during production on The Crow. On the set of that 1994 film, actor Brandon Lee was accidentally shot and killed during filming. Both events have prompted arguments about occupational safety and the use of real guns on sets. In fact, even Alec Baldwin tried to vocalize his support to use less firearms on film sets. But now that the FBI report seems to contradict his claims that the gun fired itself – it could place the actor into an even worse spot.
As such, stay tuned to ScreenGeek for updates as we have them. It’s currently unknown if production on Rust will ever resume.