FBI Forensic Results And Medical Examiner’s Report On Deadly ‘Rust’ Shooting Completed

The results of the FBI’s forensic investigation and the New Mexico medical examiner’s report into the shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of Alec Baldwin’s film Rust on October 21 have been received by Sheriff’s investigators.

The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office detectives investigating the shooting in Bonanza City, New Mexico, that injured director Joel Souza, have stated that they will review the reports and then send the information to the district attorney.

The state’s Office of the Medical Investigator, according to ABC News, determined that Hutchins died from a gunshot wound to the chest and that “a review of available law enforcement reports revealed no compelling demonstration that the firearm was intentionally loaded with live ammunition on set.”

In his or her postmortem report, the medical examiner concluded that “the manner of death is best classified as accident based on all available information, including the absence of obvious intent to cause harm or death.”

According to ABC News, the FBI concluded that the gun held by Baldwin when it went off set and struck Hutchins and Souza “could not be made to fire without a pull of the trigger while the working internal components were intact and functional.”

In December 2021, Baldwin told ABC News’s George Stephanopoulos that he did not fire the.45 Colt (.45 Long Colt) calibre F.lli Pietta single-action revolver found at the crime scene.

“He was directing me on how to hold the gun for this angle,” Baldwin said of his conversation with Hutchins just before the shooting. Hutchins stood near the camera, staring at a monitor.

The actor went on to say that the late cinematographer had instructed him to begin “cocking the hammer” for a specific shot. “I drew the hammer back as far as I could without cocking the gun,” Baldwin explains. The gun fires loudly when I let go of the hammer.

Because the hammer had been de-cocked while the chamber was loaded, the primer was detonated “without a pull of the trigger when the hammer was struck directly,” according to the forensics report.

The sheriff’s office has provided an update on the investigation after announcing on Thursday that they were collaborating with other law enforcement agencies to obtain, process, and disclose Baldwin’s phone records.

Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza made this statement after Suffolk County PD completed its agency assistance and forwarded the records to New Mexico law enforcement.

The sheriff’s office will forward the files to the district attorney after reviewing the reports and phone records.