October 21, 2021 proved to be a tragic day for Halyna Hutchins. The cinematographer was killed while working on the set of the film Rust, after a gun being used as a prop was discharged. The Hutchins family filed a wrongful death suit against the actor who was handling the gun, Alec Baldwin, who agreed to settle out of court for an undisclosed amount.
While the public outcry may have faded in the year and a half since the incident, new information suggests that Baldwin could still be charged in relation to Hutchins’ death. A forensic report was obtained by People Magazine, and it concludes that the trigger on the gun must have been pulled “sufficiently” enough to cause the accident. Baldwin has repeatedly denied that he pulled the trigger.
The forensic report was prepared by Lucien Haag and Mike Haag, experts who were hired by the state of New Mexico in its case against Hannah Gutierrez-Reed. “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 read. “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.”
Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was the armorer who worked on Rust, and both she and Baldwin were charged with involuntary manslaughter in January 2023. Baldwin was able to get the charges dropped, but Gutierrez-Reed remained legally liable. She pleaded not guilty to the involuntary manslaughter charge and the secondary tampering with evidence charge. Gutierrez-Reed’s trial is scheduled for December, and her attorney, Jason Bowles, told People that she “looks forward to her day in court, and to having the conduct of everyone on set fully examined.”
Baldwin has kept a relatively low profile since the charges against him were dropped, with his legal team confirming that he was “pleased” with the court’s decision. He also appeared on NBC News, where he maintained that he did not fire the gun that led to Hutchins being killed. “The trigger wasn’t pulled,” he insisted. “I didn’t pull the trigger. I would never point a gun at someone and pull the trigger on them, never.”
The Haag forensics report is not the only piece of evidence that suggests Baldwin may be wrong. In August 2022, a forensic report from the FBI arrived at a similar conclusion. It was determined that the gun “could not be made to fire without a pull of the trigger while the working internal components were intact and functional.” Baldwin’s attorney told outlets that the report was “misconstrued,” but the recent findings may provide the credence that was initially lacking.
Rust wrapped production in May 2023, but an official release date has not yet surfaced. Baldwin, who also serves as a producer on the film, posted photos on Instagram with the caption: “It’s been a long and difficult road. But we reach [sic] the end of the trail today. Congratulations to Joel, Bianca and the entire cast and crew. Nothing less than a miracle.”
