Alec Baldwin‘s lawyer is speaking out against the recently-released FBI report about the tragic accidental shooting on the set of his film Rust that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. But the star’s attorney isn’t the only one reacting — and there continue to be two different perspectives on the events that led to the tragedy.
As we’ve been covering, the FBI report — which was first released earlier this month — asserted the gun involved in Hutchins’ death “could not be made to fire without a pull of the trigger.” Baldwin has previously asserted he did NOT pull the trigger on the set, but it would seem the law enforcement’s investigation contradicts that.
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Now, Baldwin’s lawyer Luke Nikas has shared an aggressive new response with ET. In the statement, which was published by the outlet on Monday, Nikas asserts the medical examiner’s report on Hutchins’ death being accidental is the only report that matters in this tragic case:
“The critical report is the one from the medical examiner, who concluded that this was a tragic accident. This is the third time the New Mexico authorities have found that Alec Baldwin had no authority or knowledge of the allegedly unsafe conditions on the set, that he was told by the person in charge of safety on the set that the gun was ‘cold,’ and believed the gun was safe.”
Nikas went on to slam the FBI report and the public’s response to it, saying the whole thing “is being misconstrued.”
The lawyer stated:
“The FBI report is being misconstrued. The gun fired in testing only one time — without having to pull the trigger — when the hammer was pulled back and the gun broke in two different places. The FBI was unable to fire the gun in any prior test, even when pulling the trigger, because it was in such poor condition.”
Wow.
Baldwin’s lawyer isn’t the only one to respond to the FBI report, though.
Also new on Monday, ET published a long statement from the attorney of Rust armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed. That legal advocate took the opposite angle of Baldwin’s lawyer and praised the FBI’s findings. Their statement claimed the report exonerates Gutierrez-Reed and leaves Baldwin culpable over allegedly pulling the trigger:
“The newly released FBI reports show the revolver was in good working order and that Baldwin had to have pulled the trigger to fire the revolver, directly contradicting his prior statements and those of Assistant Director Halls, through his attorney, who also said Baldwin didn’t pull the trigger. The New Mexico Environmental Department’s (OSHA) new complaint highlights serious failures by production on the Rust set which would have prevented this tragic shooting.”
Gutierrez-Reed’s attorney continued, adding more vitriol directed at Baldwin for allegedly having “ignored Hannah’s requests” for cross-draw weapons training on set prior to the shooting:
“These new filings demonstrate various production members’ attempts from the very beginning to shirk responsibility and scapegoat Hannah, a 24-year-old armorer, for this tragedy. Hannah was tasked with doing two jobs including props assistant and the very important job as armorer but not given adequate time and training days to do so despite repeated requests or the respect required of the armorer’s position and responsibilities. This included Baldwin in particular who ignored Hannah’s requests to do specific cross draw training which would include never having his finger on the trigger during the cross draw and never pointing the weapon at anyone.”
As of now, the First Judicial District Attorney’s Office in New Mexico has yet to file any charges in Hutchins’ death. Sheriff’s detectives in the jurisdiction continue to review statements, phone records, and other evidence.
Per ET, that law enforcement body hopes to be able to forward the case file to the District Attorney soon. Prosecutors will then make the final decision on whether or not to pursue charges against anybody involved.
[Image via MEGA/WENN/The Today Show/YouTube/Halyna Hutchins/Instagram]
