ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico –
The fatal shooting of a cinematographer by actor Alec Baldwin last year was an accident, according to a determination made by the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator after completing an autopsy and a review of police reports.
The medical investigator’s report was released Monday by the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office along with numerous FBI reports on the revolver and ammunition that were collected after the shooting.
Prosecutors have not yet decided whether to file charges in the case, and said they would review the latest reports and were awaiting cellphone data from Baldwin’s attorneys.
Baldwin was pointing a gun at cinematographer Halyna Hutchins when it blew up on October 21, killing Hutchins and wounding the director, Joel Souza. They had been inside a small church during the montage to film a scene.
While it’s too early to say how much weight the medical investigator’s report will carry for the district attorney’s office, Baldwin’s legal team suggested it was further evidence that the shooting was “a tragic accident” and that he should not face charges. penalties.
“This is the third time New Mexico authorities have found that Alec Baldwin had no authority or knowledge of allegedly unsafe conditions on set, that he was told by the person in charge of security on set that the gun was ‘cold’ . ‘ and believed the gun was safe,” attorney Luke Nikas said in a statement.
Baldwin said in a December interview with ABC News that he was pointing the gun at Hutchins following his instructions on the set of the western movie “Rust” when it went off after he cocked it. He said that he didn’t pull the trigger.
An FBI analysis of the revolver in Baldwin’s hand during the rehearsal suggested that it was working at the time and would not have fired unless fully cocked and the trigger pulled.
With the firing pin in the fully cocked position, the FBI report stated that the weapon could not be made to fire without pulling the trigger while working internal components were intact and functional.
During the FBI’s testing of the weapon, authorities said, parts of the gun’s trigger sear and cylinder stopper fractured while the hammer was being struck. That allowed the hammer to drop and the firing pin to detonate the primer.
“This was the only successful discharge during this test and was attributed to fractured internal components, not failure of the firearm or safety mechanisms,” the report stated.
It was not clear from the FBI report how many times the revolver’s hammer may have been struck during the test.
Baldwin, who was also a producer on the movie “Rust,” has previously said the gun should not have been loaded for rehearsal.
Among the ammunition seized at the filming location were live bullets found in a car and in the holster that was in the building where the shooting occurred. Blank and fake cartridges were also found.
The New Mexico Office of Occupational Safety and Health in a scathing report issued in April detailed a narrative of safety failures in violation of standard industry protocols, including testimony that production managers took limited or no action to address two set failures before the fatal shooting.
The bureau also documented gun safety complaints from crew members that went unaddressed and said weapons specialists were not allowed to make decisions about additional safety training.
In concluding that the shooting was an accident, the New Mexico medical investigator’s office noted “the absence of an obvious intent to cause injury or death” and stated that there was “no convincing demonstration” that the revolver it was intentionally loaded with live ammunition. In the set.
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Associated Press writer Walter Berry in Phoenix contributed to this report.