Trigger must have been pulled in 'Rust' shooting incident with Alec Baldwin: FBI report

The firearm involved in the fatal "Rust" movie set shooting must have had the trigger pulled, an FBI report found, despite the fact that actor Alec Baldwin previously denied pulling the trigger.

Baldwin fatally shot cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injured director Joel Souza last October while filming "Rust" in New Mexico. During an interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos later that year, Baldwin denied pulling the trigger on the gun.

"Well, the trigger wasn’t pulled, I didn’t pull the trigger," he said at the time, adding, "No, no, no, no, no, I would never point a gun at anyone and pull the trigger."

The gun used in the shooting, a .45 Long Colt caliber F.lli Pietta single-action revolver, could not have gone off without someone pulling the trigger, the FBI stated in a report obtained by ABC News.

With the hammer quarter- or half-cocked, the Colt "could not be made to fire without a pull of the trigger," officials said. 

Even with the hammer fully cocked, the weapon "could not be made to fire without a pull of the trigger while the working internal components were intact and functional," the report observed.

"Death was caused by a gunshot wound of the chest. Review of available law enforcement reports showed no compelling demonstration that the firearm was intentionally loaded with live ammunition on set," the FBI report said. "Based on all available information, including the absence of obvious intent to cause harm or death, the manner of death is best classified as accident."

The district attorney has not made any decisions about whether or not to charge Baldwin in the case and detectives are still waiting to receive Baldwin's phone records in the investigation, the local sheriff's office said last week.