Alec Baldwin’s legal troubles in the fatal “Rust” movie set shooting may not be over, and he could once again face charges.
In April, all the charges against Baldwin were dropped. He faced two counts of involuntary manslaughter for the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during filming back in October 2021. He has long claimed to have not pulled the trigger in the fatal shooting. The charges were dropped based on the possibility that the revolver used in the shooting may have been altered and malfunctioned.
Baldwin went on a P.R. tour after the incident, where he absolved himself of any responsibility for Hutchins’s death. “Someone is responsible for what happened, and I can’t say who that is,” Baldwin told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos. “But I know it’s not me.”
“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,” Baldwin’s attorneys said in a statement at the time.
But “bombshell new gun analysis” has concluded that, despite Baldwin’s repeated denials that he never pulled the trigger, someone indeed pulled it.
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Now anyone who understands guns or has common sense knows that guns don’t just spontaneously shoot. But it took ballistics experts and forensic testing to confirm that the Colt .45 revolver used on set did have its trigger pulled or depressed.
“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,” the report led by Lucien Haag of Forensic Science Services in Arizona explains. “This fatal incident was the consequence of the hammer being manually retracted to its fully rearward and cocked position followed, at some point, by the pull or rearward depression of the trigger.”
According to the New York Post, in an email on Tuesday, Kari Morrissey, the special prosecutor for the “Rust” case in New Mexico, mentioned that her office has not made a formal decision regarding the possibility of re-filing charges against Baldwin. However, no specific timeline for this announcement was provided.
After the charges were dropped, the special prosecutors commissioned a new examination of the gun and other weapons and ammunition present on the “Rust” set and indicated in a court filing in June that Baldwin could still face charges.
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