The gun involved in the tragic shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins could not have been fired without its trigger being pulled, according to FBI documents.
Hutchins died after being fatally wounded in New Mexico while working on the movie set of Alec Baldwin's upcoming movie, Rust. On October 21, the 63-year-old actor was handed a functional prop firearm. A round was subsequently discharged - injuring director Joel Souza and fatally wounded 42-year-old Hutchins.
Baldwin believed he was being handed a "cold gun" (a firearm with no live ammunition), per a search warrant affidavit.
During a tearful interview with ABC News's George Stephanopoulos, Baldwin said: "The trigger wasn’t pulled. I didn’t pull the trigger."
To which, Stephanopoulos responded: "So you never pulled the trigger?"
"No, no, no, no, no," Baldwin replied. "I would never point a gun at anyone and pull the trigger at them. Never."
Now, ABC News says it has obtained new FBI documents following forensic testing of the firearm that was used by the movie's cast and crew.
According to an FBI forensic testing report obtained by ABC News on Friday, the weapon used on the set - a .45 Colt (.45 Long Colt) caliber F.lli Pietta single-action revolver - "could not be made to fire without a pull of the trigger".
The report detailed the various scenarios the weapon could or couldn't be discharged.
According to the report, the gun "could not be made to fire without a pull of the trigger" with the hammer in the quarter- and half-cock positions.
Additionally, with the hammer fully cocked, the gun "could not be made to fire without a pull of the trigger while the working internal components were intact and functional".
And finally, with the hammer de-cocked on a loaded chamber, the gun was able to detonate a primer "without a pull of the trigger when the hammer was struck directly", which ABC News reports is "normal for this type of revolver".
During his interview with Stephanopoulos, Baldwin said that despite being distraught over Hutchin's death, he claims not to be the person responsible for the tragedy.
"I feel that someone is responsible for what happened, and I can’t say who that is, but I know it’s not me," Baldwin told Stephanopoulos, before adding: "I mean, honest to God, if I felt that I was responsible, I might have killed myself if I thought I was responsible. And I don’t say that lightly."
ABC News adds that the forensic testing of the firearm was part of the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office's ongoing criminal investigation into the shooting.
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