The FBI has finally come to a conclusion about the tragic death of Halyna Hutchins, which left the whole nation questioning whether Alec Baldwin really pulled the trigger or not.
This comes amid a year-long investigation into the tragic shooting that took place on the set of Rust.
The FBI has concluded once and for all what must have happened in the devastating ordeal.
Scroll on to check it out for yourself…
Now, this whirlwind first began when Alec Baldwin was given a “prop” gun that mistakenly contained live rounds.
The sixty-three-year-old was using a gun prop on the set of the American Western film, Rust, when he fired a round of blanks that killed cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins, as well as wounded the director of the film, Joel Souza.
Souza was immediately rushed to hospital where he received treatment for his injuries.
He was taken to Christus St Vincent Regional Medical Center for further examinations.
Hutchins was taken to the University of New Mexico Hospital but died when she got there.
The forty-two-year-old was transported to the location via helicopter but before she could undergo life-saving treatment, she succumbed to her injuries.
Rust was being filmed at the Bonanza Creek ranch just outside of Santa Fe when the incident occurred on October 21, 2021.
Santa Fe police deputies were called to the scene after Baldwin had misfired the prop during a scene.
Later on, in a statement, the authorities confirmed the details.
As per the Independent, the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s office said that the pair were shot when a prop firearm was discharged by Baldwin, who is the producer and actor for the new film, which, ironically, is about an accidental killing.
Since the news was made public, some have suggested that Baldwin should be charged with manslaughter.
“Hopefully Alec Baldwin gets manslaughter at the very least. But knowing the Democrats and their penchant for protecting criminals, I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets off with 10 hours of community service…
If that,” film producer, Errol Webber wrote.
Others have added that the person in charge of handling props should take the fall…
“Surely whoever was in charge of props would be more likely to face a manslaughter charge. However, it also sounds like they all had done too many hours on set, maybe the producers should be taken to task for gross negligence? Nuance really isn’t your thing, is it?” another Twitter user replied to Webber.
However, most people are focused on the victims of the tragic incident as tributes have been pouring in for Halyna Hutchins, who lost her life as an outcome.
Brandon Bruce Lee wrote: “Our hearts go out to the family of Halyna Hutchins and to Joel Souza and all involved in the incident on ‘Rust.’ No one should ever be killed by a gun on a film set. Period.”
Alec Baldwin broke his silence on the matter a few days later…
In a statement, he told people that he is “fully co-operating with the police.”
His full statement reads: “There are no words to convey my shock and sadness regarding the tragic accident that took the life of Halyna Hutchins, a wife, mother, and deeply admired colleague of ours.
“I’m fully cooperating with the police investigation to address how this tragedy occurred and I am in touch with her husband, offering my support to him and his family. My heart is broken for her husband, their son, and all who knew and loved Halyna.”
Director Joel Souza also spoke out about the tragic moment that the shooting took place.
As per the Independent, Souza recalled the moment in an affidavit released by the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office on October 24.
In the document, Souza described hearing a loud pop on Baldwin’s final reach for the gun.
He reportedly said that he vaguely remembers Hutchins grabbing her waist before stumbling backward. Hutchins is then said to have complained of a stomach ache.
Over the months that ensued, new information has been shared revealing that there were instances that caused crew members to leave the set even before the fatal shot was fired.
As per the Independent, sources revealed that “camera operators and their assistants were frustrated by the conditions surrounding the low-budget film, including complaints about long hours, long commutes and collecting their paychecks… safety protocols standard in the industry, including gun inspections, were not strictly followed on the Rust set.”
Gun inspections, which should have been made by twenty-four-year-old head armorer, Hannah Gutierrez Reed, were clearly neglected on set…
Which resulted in multiple accidental shots being fired by prop guns days before Hutchins was shot.
According to the Los Angeles Times, sources revealed that complaints about gun safety on set had been made prior to her death as crew members were apparently “concerned about 2 accidental prop gun discharges” just days before.
It turns out, that Baldwin’s stunt double fired 2 live rounds by mistake, after being told there was no live ammunition loaded into the gun.
A crew member told the Times: “There should have been an investigation into what happened. There were no safety meetings. There was no assurance that it wouldn’t happen again. All they wanted to do was rush, rush, rush.”
The risk of having guns on a movie set has become extremely clear…
However, Baldwin later made a claim in his first interview since the incident, that he didn’t fire the gun at all…
Baldwin opened up during his interview which aired on ABC, claiming he didn’t fire the gun at all…
Speaking about the tragic death of Hutchins on the set of Rust, he told anchor George Stephanopoulos that he didn’t actually pull the trigger.
During the interview, Baldwin seems to come up with a new story, one that people just can’t come to terms with…
He was heard saying in response to a question about the gun going off: “Well, the trigger wasn’t pulled. I didn’t pull the trigger.”
Of course, Baldwin’s claim has left many people confused…
But a Hollywood weapons expert, Steve Wolf gave his opinion to TMZ shortly after it aired, and explained that it might have just been Baldwin’s choice of words.
Wolf provided the outlet with a gun demonstration using a similar style gun to what Baldwin is said to have used in the incident.
Wolf’s demonstration showed that just a small amount of pressure on the gun’s trigger could cause it to fire.
“Just the slightest amount of even tensing your hand on one of these single actions guns is enough to discharge it,” he said. Wolf then added that he thinks Baldwin is saying “he’s not aware of having intentionally decided to shoot the gun and this does happen.”
Then, yet another expert weighed on the interview.
Body language expert, Patti Wood, offered her opinion to The Sun as she claimed that Baldwin exhibited “explosive” behavior.
Wood claimed that when Baldwin said the trigger wasn’t pulled “it’s explosive.”
“When he says the trigger wasn’t pulled, it’s explosive, meaning that he’s striking down the phrase ‘the trigger wasn’t pulled,'” she said.
She also claimed that the way Baldwin said it “striking down on each word” indicts that it is “likely to be true.”
Wood also said that Baldwin showed other behaviors such as eye contact and leaning forward which suggested he was telling the truth.
“Baldwin’s shoulders and his head go forward [as he speaks]. Occasionally, when somebody is lying they would retreat, the shoulders would come back and their head would come back. Instead, he goes forward.”
But, while some people believe what Baldwin had to say, Hayna Hutchins’ family doesn’t as they went on to sue the actor over the shooting…
A wrongful death lawsuit was been filed by Haylna Hutchins’ family.
The suit claims the crew failed to treat the weapon as loaded, which is the number 1 safety rule for any gun.
The suit also stated: “He released the revolver’s hammer, and — BAM — defendant Baldwin fired the revolver.”
Despite Baldwin claiming he didn’t pull the trigger. The Hutchins’ lawyer said: “I think it’s clear what happened. Alec had the gun in his hand, he shot it — Halyna was killed. The gun cannot fire unless the trigger is engaged and the hammer is back.”
Matt Hutchins then went on to give his first interview since Halyna’s tragic death.
And he described his true feelings towards Baldwin.
Matt spoke in an interview with the Today Show with Hoda Kotb.
In the interview, Matt discussed how he felt when he watched Alec Baldwin’s interview.
“I just felt so angry,” Matt said in the Interview. But, this was after a heartbroken Matt opened up about his grief.
When asked when he misses her the most, he responded by saying:
“I saw a picture of her smiling the other day and I just thought… She’ll never smile again.”
“And that’s really hard,” he added.
Kotb then asked if it felt like fireworks when he first met Halyna. And he said:
“Pretty much. It was pretty magic meeting her,” he said.
Matt had traveled 2,000 miles to Ukraine, where Halyna was from, so that he could propose to her, according to the show.
And it truly is a magical story.
“I like to trust my intuition on matters of the heart,” he said. He had to convince her that it was the right thing to do, but, deep down in her heart, she knew it was, too.
Halyna wasn’t just an incredible cinematographer, but an incredible mom, as well. “We certainly expected her to come home and to be with us in her new home,” Matt heartbreakingly told Kotb.
“The production team told me that Halyna had been shot,” Matt said responding to Kotb asking how he found out.
“My heart sank right away. It’s completely inexplicable to me that it could have happened at that moment. And the first thing I thought, I sat down and I said, ‘I have to get my son,’ because I had to be with him.
“I rushed home and on the way decided we had to go to Santa Fe,” he explained. But, when he got there, the doctor detailed what had happened and that tragically, Halyna had not survived her injuries.
“I was heartbroken,” Matt said. “I knew that I had to tell my son right away when I saw him.”
He didn’t want his son to think they’d be having a fun trip visiting his mom, trying to be as direct and honest with him as he could.
Matt then explained that the embrace with Alec Baldwin was a result of the shock they were in. “I was just looking for a way through the storm,” Matt said. But, now, he thinks that the actor has shifted the blame for his wife’s death.
“Watching him, I just felt angry,” he admitted.
Continuing on, he said: “Just so angry to see him talk about her death so publicly in such a detailed way, and then do not accept any responsibility after having just described killing her.
“It almost sounds like he was the victim. Hearing him blame Halyna in the interview and shift responsibility to others and seeing him cry about it, I just feel like, are we really supposed to feel bad about you Mr. Baldwin?” Matt questioned.
“The idea that the person holding the gun causing it to discharge is not responsible is absurd to me.
“Every individual who touches a firearm has responsibility for gun safety. But, gun safety was not the only problem on that set, there were a number of industry standards that were not practiced and there are multiple responsible parties,” Matt claimed.
“Justice won’t bring Halyna back, but maybe the memory of her will help keep people safe and prevent something like this from happening again,” he said.
On her tombstone, a quote reads: “Her light shapes our lives keep chasing your vision.” Matt decided to use this as an inscription because it “embodies her spirit.”
And now, almost a year after the incident, a conclusion has finally been made by the FBI as to whether they believe Baldwin shot the gun or not.
ABC News reported on Friday that they have acquired a copy of the forensic analysis report.
The shocking report states that the gun — a .45 Long Colt caliber F.lli Pietta single-action revolver — could not have been fired without the trigger being pulled.
The gun “could not be made to fire without a pull of the trigger,” it said.
Adding that the gun “could not be made to fire without a pull of the trigger while the working internal components were intact and functional.”
The FBI allegedly tested all possible scenarios to see if the gun would fire without the trigger being pulled, and according to their report, that wasn’t viable.
Obviously, there is still a small possibility that Baldwin’s gun did malfunction that day, and the investigation is still ongoing.
What do you think of the explosive report?