An FBI forensic report has revealed new details about the Alec Baldwin Rust shooting. Rust is a currently-suspended Western film starring Baldwin, Vikings star Travis Fimmel, and The Boys actor Jensen Ackles. The film is directed by Joel Souza and is based on a story created by Souza and Baldwin. Filming for Rust began in New Mexico on October 6, 2021 but production quickly turned tragic.

On October 21, 2021, Baldwin was handling a prop revolver on-set at the Bonanza Creek Ranch in Bonanza City, New Mexico. Baldwin was practicing handling the revolver when the gun discharged a single shot, injuring Souza and killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. Baldwin says the discharge was completely accidental, and that he wasn't aware there were live rounds of ammunition in the revolver. As a result of this incident, production on Rust was suspended indefinitely. An investigation by the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office began on the day of the incident and is currently ongoing. Baldwin, assistant director Dave Halls, and armorer Hannah Guiterrez-Reed were all persons of interest in this investigation.

In an FBI forensic report obtained by ABC News, new details about the shooting have emerged. While Baldwin insists that he did not pull the trigger on the revolver, and that the gun was fired accidentally, the FBI's accidental discharge testing revealed that the revolver could not have been fired without the trigger being pulled. The FBI's report stated that the gun "could not be made to fire without a pull of the trigger while the working internal components were intact and functional." Neither Baldwin nor Guiterrez-Reed have responded to these findings yet.


The Rust shooting sparked debates over occupational safety on film and television sets, with IATSE vice-president Michael Miller saying that cast and crew safety is often overlooked in favor of finishing a project more quickly. In October of 2021, a Change.org petition circulated around the internet in an effort to ban the use of live firearms on film and television sets, which currently has over 117,000 signatures. Despite Baldwin also calling to limit the use of firearms in productions, neither Baldwin, Halls, nor Guiterrez-Reed seem to want to take any responsibility for the tragedy.

It was reported that after the shooting, Baldwin allegedly wanted to continue filming Rust, saying that it would honor Hutchin's memory. In May of 2022, Rust producer Anjul Nigam expressed his confidence in being able to complete Rust, similarly stating that he "hope[d] to honor Halyna by completing her last work." However, with Baldwin insisting that the gun seemed to fire itself, but the FBI forensics report stating otherwise, it doesn't seem like production on Rust will be moving forward anytime soon as the investigation continues.