MECHANICALLY IMPROPER

Alec Baldwin Charges Dropped Due to New Info About Faulty Gun: Report

A source told ABC News that special prosecutors decided to drop involuntary manslaughter charges because the gun used on the “Rust” set could fire on its own.

“I would never point a gun at anyone and pull a trigger at them. Never, ever,” Alec Baldwin said in an interview last December after the deadly on-set shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchinson. Now, it appears that his assertion that the prop firearm he was holding went off by itself may be accurate after new details emerged around the decision to drop involuntary manslaughter charges against him. An unnamed source told ABC News that the special prosecutors handling the case decided not to prosecute Baldwin at least in part after they received new information that the Colt .45 revolver in question was “mechanically improper” and capable of firing “without pressure on the trigger.” The investigation has now shifted to Rust armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, whose lawyers told The Daily Beast on Thursday, “The truth about what happened will come out and the questions that we have long sought answers for will be answered,” adding, “We fully expect at the end of this process that Hannah will also be exonerated.” Prosecutors have apparently not, however, ruled out further action against the actor, saying in a statement Thursday, “This decision does not absolve Mr. Baldwin of criminal culpability and charges may be refiled.”