It's possible, but not likely, Alec Baldwin's gun fired without him pulling the trigger
The gun could have a mechanical defect, or could have been misidentified by police. But it is more likely Alec Baldwin did pull the trigger.
Alec Baldwin made a surprising claim last week during his first major interview since he shot and killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the film "Rust": He never pulled the trigger.
It's a surprising claim because it's also an improbable one.
Despite how often people will say a gun just "went off" on its own, it's an extremely uncommon phenomenon. Modern guns have internal safeties that make it impossible for the gun to fire without the trigger being pulled – even in cases where the gun is dropped while loaded. Even antique gun designs have features that prevent the gun from firing on its own.
Baldwin said the gun went off after he pulled the hammer back and released it. “I cock the gun. I go, ‘Can you see that? Can you see that? Can you see that?’ ” Baldwin told ABC News. “And then I let go of the hammer of the gun, and the gun goes off. I let go of the hammer of the gun, the gun goes off.”