The D.A. In The “Rust” Investigation Says That Alec Baldwin Might Not Have Pulled The Trigger On The Gun

February 21, 2022 / Posted by:

The ongoing investigation into the fatal shooting on the set of Rust continues to teeter on “Alec Baldwin pulled the trigger, Alec Baldwin did not technically pull the trigger.” Recently, the Santa Fe, New Mexico District Attorney spoke about the current state of the investigation, and they’re saying that technically speaking, Alec might not have actually fired the gun that went off during rehearsals and killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.

Just last week, Alec was named in a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of Halyna Hutchins, specifically, her husband Matthew Hutchins. Also named in the lawsuit are armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, assistant director Dave Hall, several production companies, and the company that provided the ammunition on set. The lawsuit alleges that many safety precautions that were supposed to happen on set, didn’t happen and that Alec pulled the trigger on the weapon, despite his repeated claims that he didn’t pull it. Alec has maintained that he is definitely not the person to be pointing fingers at, because – well, his finger didn’t do the thing to cause the weapon to fire. A big part of his pseudo-alibi is that yes, he was holding the gun, but no, he never pulled the trigger. D.A. Mary Carmack-Altwies says Alec’s defense is plausible. via TMZ:

Alec Baldwin has an important ally in the “Rust” shooting, because the D.A. may be onboard with his story that he never pulled the trigger of the gun that killed Halyna Hutchins.

Santa Fe D.A. Mary Carmack-Altwies told Vanity Fair, “You can pull the hammer back without actually pulling the trigger and without actually locking it. So you pull it back partway, it doesn’t lock, and then if you let it go, the firing pin can hit the primer of the bullet.”

For those who need a little gun terminology glossary, the “hammer” is the thing on the back of the gun that you pull back with your thumb. The trigger is of course the little pully thing that you squeeze with your pointer finger. According to TMZ, D.A. Mary conducted an investigation in her office to see if her theory is plausible, and the results allegedly showed that a partially-engaged hammer could fire off a bullet. However, other firearms experts claim that there’s no way this could happen and that the only way to discharge a weapon is to pull the trigger.

Alec told ABC News back in December that he’d never point a gun at anyone and pull the trigger. So, Alec might have done everything but intentionally pull the trigger, and maybe he didn’t pull the hammer back far enough, and maybe that firing pin hit the mechanism that releases the bullet. At least, according to the D.A., that’s what might have happened. And in the event the New Mexico’s D.A. office is able to prove that a weapon can discharge with merely the tap of the hammer, then Alec might avoid being charged with criminal negligence. Okay well, in light of this new information, maybe we can officially agree that real guns anywhere on set are a bad idea? I wouldn’t so much as handle a bag of popcorn if Mr. Redebacher gave me a warning on that box that said, “Oh, by the way, this shit could spontaneously explode in your hands as you walk it over to the microwave, so look out.

Pic: INSTAR

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